Fire & Ice: A Perfect Fit
by vampwillow1
Summary: My Twilight story with my fave pairing - Alice and Bella
1. Chapter 1

_Italics – thoughts_

_**Italics – dreams or visions**_

Disclaimer: I do not now, nor have I ever owned Twilight or any of its characters, Stephanie Meyer does. I wish I did own them though as I wouldn't just stop writing Midnight Sun! And I'd change the pairing. No Jacob in this one.

Authors Note: Please be gentle with me, I have never ever written anything before. This is a femslash story. Don't like? Don't read - Simples!

**Fire & Ice: A Perfect Fit**

**Chapter One**

Bella looked at the house in front of her and her heart sank. It had not changed since she was a little girl; except more paint was peeling off and the constant rain had made the house look weathered. Bella couldn't believe she had to leave Phoenix, Arizona for Forks, Washington, but she knew why – her mother. Renee wanted to be with her new husband, Phil, on the road, and Bella was more than happy to stay home alone while they were away. She could look after herself, had done so for years before her mom met Phil. But the City of Phoenix didn't quite see it that way. She was still a minor, albeit only for one more year, and they made Renee decide to either stay home with Bella or let her live with her father. Renee, true to form, couldn't bring herself to say she could stay home so Bella made the decision for her. Renee had always been selfish when it came to her life over Bella's. And now here she was, in Forks, in the freezing cold. Bella put a brave face on for Charlie; she knew he was happy to have her home permanently.

Bella got out of the police cruiser and followed Charlie into the house, dragging her case behind her. _I need my own car; I can't be driven around in a police cruiser_. Bella was lost in thought as she entered the house. She looked around; it was pretty much a bachelor pad. On the plus side, the kitchen looked as though it had never been used judging by the pristine kitchenware and the huge pile of take-out cartons stacked by the trash can.

"So, uh, you must be tired after the flight and drive," Charlie spoke up quietly. He was by nature a quiet man and not prone to showing affection. He was the Forks Chief of Police, and having his teenage daughter suddenly come to live with him threw him out of his comfort zone. He loved his daughter; he was happy she was there; he just didn't know how to act around her. "Your room is the same one you had when you were a kid; I gave it a lick of paint, added a laptop and some girl stuff..." He trailed off, realising that what he thought a teenage girl needed was not necessarily right.

"Thanks Dad, I'm sure it's fine. I'm gonna go unpack"

"Ok, I'll uh... I'll be here if you need anything," Charlie turned around and headed for the TV.

That was the good thing about Charlie, he didn't hover. Bella headed up to her room, with the sound of a baseball game blaring out of the 50" plasma TV behind her, and threw her bag on the bed. She didn't have much to unpack; her clothes were not suited for Forks so she had left most of them in Phoenix. _Ugh, I'll have to go shopping. I wonder how long I can put it off._

Bella noticed the laptop Charlie had gotten her and started it up. She was pleasantly surprised. It was fast, a new-ish model and not a girly colour. Bella left an email for her mom, knowing Renee would not even read it for days. Bella was frustrated at her need to let her mom know she was ok, knowing that Renee could not even put her first. She logged off and looked around her room, it wasn't bad. Charlie had made an effort to clean; she had new sheets and a new dresser _Hmm, not bad Charlie_

Bella finished unpacking and sorting out her room and when she was done it had gone 11pm. Charlie had long since fallen asleep and Bella suddenly realised how tired she was. She got changed and fell into bed, wondering how she would get on at Forks High. She soon fell into a deep sleep.

"_**Bella. Bella,"**_ _**A melodic voice was calling her, but she couldn't see where it was coming from.**_ _**Bella was standing alone in a clearing, surrounded by trees. It was beautiful, the sun was shining and Bella could feel the warmth on her face. **_**"**_**Bella'**_**'** _**The voice had moved from somewhere in the woods and was suddenly right behind her. Bella turned around and froze. She was staring into the most perfect, most gorgeous face she had ever seen.**_ _**And her eyes – they were a mesmerising gold. **_**"**_**Breathe, my Bella,"**__**My Bella? What the f…? Bella lost all train of thought as the gorgeous pixie-like girl laid an ice cold hand on the back of her neck and leant in to kiss her. Closer, closer, closer…**_

Beep, beep, beep. The alarm on Bella's cell phone woke her up with a start. _What the hell?_ Bella thought as she struggled to bring her breathing under control. _What a gorgeous girl... wait a minute since when do I dream about girls? I really don't need this, not this morning._ With that Bella jumped out of bed and started to get ready for her first day at Forks High School. But her thoughts were not on school, they were on the gorgeous pixie from her dream.

_Who is she?_


	2. Chapter 2

_Italics – thoughts_

_**Italics – dreams or visions**_

**Disclaimer: I do not now, nor have I ever owned Twilight or any of its characters, Stephanie Meyer does. I wish I did own them though as I wouldn't just stop writing Midnight Sun! And I'd change the pairing. No Jacob in this one.**

**Authors Note: ****Wow! I have been completely stunned by the sheer number of people who have added me to fave's and alerts – thank you! Also, huge thanks to those who left reviews. Those who thought Ch 1 was too short, I apologise. I have never ever written anything before and am worried about rambling or making chapters too long and boring. Better to be short and sweet right? Oh yeah - This is a ****femslash**** story. Don't like? Don't read – Simples!**

**On we go!**

**Chapter Two**

Bella pulled up outside Forks High in her new red truck. Well, semi-new. Charlie had surprised her with it before school, saying she couldn't ride around in a police cruiser. _We're more alike than I thought,_ Bella realised before giving Charlie a somewhat awkward hug. She loved her Dad and she knew things would work out just fine, them living together. They just had to get used to each other.

Bella found her way to the admin building, where she got her schedule and a map of the school from the nice but very old desk clerk. _Wow, she should have retired years ago _Bella thought inwardly. Bella was attempting to make her way to her first class when she was accosted from behind.

"Hey New Girl, Isabella Swan right? I'm Mike. You're big news here so everyone is gonna be talking about you today. Need help finding your first class?"

Bella suddenly felt very self-conscious. _Great, that's all I need, everybody watching me. Bet I trip or break something._ _Why can't I slip in unnoticed?_ "Uh, thanks but I'm ok. And it's Bella."

"Ok Bella, if you're sure. You wanna join a bunch us for lunch? It's gotta be hard, first day and all, but we're all nice here. No need to sit alone" Mike looked at her with hopeful eyes.

_Oh no__, not the puppy eyes, I don't want to let him think he has a chance. But it is my first day and I don't want to seem rude' _Bella was interrupted from her inner monologue

"Bella? Hello? You gonna join us later?" Mike asked, smiling.

"Sure, that'll be nice. Thanks"

"Excellent, I'll meet you outside the lunchroom and introduce you to everyone. See ya later." Mike ran off leaving Bella alone in the hallway.

Bella got through her morning classes without any major incidents and soon it was lunchtime. She was waiting for Mike outside the lunchroom; wondering if would remember to show up. He bounded up, a huge smile on his face. "Hey Bella, let's go." He put his arm round Bella's shoulder, which she discreetly shrugged off. Mike didn't seem to notice and Bella smiled. They made their way to a table in the centre of the lunch room where three other people sat, two girls and another guy. Mike made the introductions and Bella made polite conversation with them, but she was soon tuning them out. They were nice and VERY chatty but really she just wanted to sit quietly, take everything in and not be the centre of attention.

Suddenly the hairs on Bella's neck rose. She felt tingly, as though she was being watched. She looked around, not noticing anything out of the ordinary until her eyes landed on a lunch table in the far corner of the lunchroom and she saw… her! The girl from her dream! Bella was once again frozen, she couldn't breathe and she could not take her eyes off this girl. And apparently the mystery girl could not take her eyes off Bella.

"The Cullen's," a girl called Jessica said

"Huh? Who? What?" Bella realised she had been caught staring by her new "friends".

"You're staring at The Cullen's. They keep to themselves, never really associate with anyone; kind of weird really. They were all adopted by Dr Cullen and his wife. The tall guy is Emmett; the blonde with him is Rosalie. They're a couple. Isn't that gross?"

"Jessica how many times do I have to tell you – THEY ARE NOT RELATED!!" A girl named Angela yelled at Jessica. Bella liked her already.

Jessica just shrugged her shoulders and carried on explaining "the weird ones" as she seemed fond of calling them "The thin blonde haired guy is Jasper, I swear you'd think the guy was in chronic pain 24/7. The brown/red haired guy is Edward, thinks he's better than everyone else here. And the short girl is Alice, she's so weird."

_Alice. Alice. She's real and she has a name. __It suits her. She's not just a dream. So why did I dream of her? _Bella was lost in thought once again as she tried to stare nonchalantly at the girl out of the corner of her eye. It didn't work; Alice noticed and smiled warmly. Bella blushed beet red but still couldn't look away. She suddenly realised that ALL the Cullen's were watching her, not just Alice although Alice looked the friendliest.

Beep beep beep. The bell rang signalling the end of lunch. _Damn, that's twice I've been interrupted from this girl by an alarm, _Bella thought angrily. She turned once more, but in the seconds between the bell ringing and Bella looking away the Cullen's had vanished. _Jeez, they move fast. _Bella picked her bag up and headed towards her next class. Mike was in the same class and tried all the way there to chat her up, but it was not working. Bella realised she was going to have to let him down at some point but decided to wait a few days until she felt more at home with these people. They strolled into the Biology lab and Bella headed for the teacher.

"Isabella Swan, I presume?"

"Bella."

"Ok Bella, here are your books. We are two chapters in, but we can get you caught up in no time. Please take a seat next to Miss Cullen and we'll get started."

_Miss Cullen? Oh no, no no no. Please be the other one, please be the other one__. _Bella prayed silently as she slowly turned round and froze again. It was Alice Cullen, sitting next to the only empty seat in the room. Bella somehow managed to get her legs working again before she looked like an idiot in front of the entire class and tentatively made her way to her seat. Alice, meanwhile, had not taken her eyes off Bella. _Is she checking me out_?' Bella thought. _No, I'm imagining things, that dream has messed with my head! But it's so weird how I dreamt of her just last night and now I'm sitting next to her. God, she's even more gorgeous up close._

Alice beamed at Bella. "Hi, I'm Alice Cullen. Nice to meet you Bella." She held her hand out, waiting for Bella to take it.

"Uh huh... ummm… nice to uh… nice to meet you too," Bella stammered and blushed, all the blood rushing to her cheeks. She shook Alice's outstretched hand _Ooh, cold! _She looked at Alice and noticed her eyes appeared to be getting blacker and blacker. Bella watched as Alice closed her eyes, and seemed to stop breathing. When she opened them again her eyes didn't seem quite so black. _I'm going nuts, Forks is making me crazy already!_

"So, you're causing a lot of excitement around here, Bella. We don't get many new people moving to Forks. Why, of all places, have you moved here?" Alice whispered in her melodic voice, trying not to attract the teacher's attention.

"The State of Arizona, in all their wisdom, decided that I had to live with my Dad instead of living alone. And all this attention? Not good. I like going unnoticed."

"Well, that was never going to happen, not with someone as beautiful as you. So why were you living alone?"

_She thinks I'm beautiful__? She asked a question, answer her dumb-ass!! _"My mom remarried. He's a semi-pro baseball player and goes on the road a lot, so she went with him. She's always been that way, a free spirit. And I'm not beautiful" Bella murmured the last part, not realising Alice could hear.

"Oh you are. Yes, your clothes need colour, and they are way too baggy, and your hair, I could do so much with that, but you ARE beautiful. And I know we are going to be great… friends," Alice smiled. _If only she knew what I knew, _Alice thought.

Bella looked at Alice, flushed red again, not quite believing what she was hearing. This gorgeous creature not only thought she was beautiful but wanted to be her friend? _Wow, she certainly doesn't hold back. I wonder if everyone in Forks is so forthcoming. _She was surprised that she already felt very comfortable in Alice's presence and Bella had to admit; she was intrigued by the girl and her family, the Cullen's. From her limited experience of staring at them during lunch she knew they were all extremely handsome and beautiful, but she had questions.

Why, if they were adopted, did they all have the same characteristics? Why were they all staring at her during lunch? And why, or even how, did Alice's eyes appear to change colour?


	3. Chapter 3

_Italics – thoughts_

_**Italics – dreams or visions**_

**Disclaimer: I do not now, nor have I ever owned Twilight or any of its characters, Stephanie Meyer does. I wish I did own them though as I wouldn't just stop writing Midnight Sun! And I'd change the pairing. No Jacob in this one**

**Authors Note: B****ig love and thanks to everyone who has reviewed and added me to faves and alerts. I wish I could say this is going to be a masterpiece but… I am under no illusion that there are stories here way better than mine. But to those who are enjoying this little slice of Twilight – this is for you.**

**Oh yeah, I've been forgetting. BIG, BIG thanks to my beta Megan. Without whom this would be a grammatical mess!**

**On with the show…**

**Chapter Three**

School was finally over. It hadn't been as bad as Bella expected, largely thanks to one Alice Cullen. Bella had not been able to stop thinking about her all day. How she got through her classes without making an ass of herself, she would never know. As Bella made her way to her truck she felt eyes on her again. She looked around and saw Alice and the Cullen's leaning against their cars. _Those cars must cost a bomb. Makes mine look like a trash heap! _She found Alice's face. Alice was smiling warmly at her; Edward and Jasper were smirking. And Rosalie just looked livid. _What is up with them? I've never even met them and they seem to either hate me or think I'm funny. Maybe Jessica is right about them. They are weird._ Bella gave a shy wave to Alice as she pulled out of the parking lot and made her way home.

Bella entered an empty house; Charlie would not be home until late. She dumped her bag on the couch and headed into the kitchen to make dinner. Bella loved this alone time, especially while cooking. She could be alone with her thoughts, which today had been running through her head non-stop, driving her a little crazy. She knew that after just one day she had a huge, huge crush on Alice Cullen. She had fallen, and fallen hard. Bella thought that Alice seemed to be the only normal one in her family, judging by the looks the other Cullen's had thrown at her today.

After a while Bella finished cooking dinner. She had made a lasagne and wrapped Charlie's up for him to eat later. She settled down at the table to eat hers, all the while lost in thought again. _Alice Cullen. There's something very different about that girl. And her family. But what? I only just met her; I can't just come out with these weird questions. She'll think I'M weird. But, oh my god, she is so hot. How can someone be so hot? It should be illegal._ Bella smiled to herself as she thought of Alice and her perfect smile, perfect face, perfect body… _God Bella, stop it! You never had thoughts like these before. But it's not a bad thing is it? No, it's just… different. But you must admit you're not adverse to the idea of being attracted to a girl? Oh no, definitely not adverse, not according to the feelings I have had today.' _Bella interrupted her internal conversation with herself; remembering she had homework to do and was never going to get it done if she stayed where she was, daydreaming about Alice Cullen. Although that was definitely the more appealing option of the two.

She headed up to her room, threw her stuff on her bed and switched her laptop on. That's when she became aware of just how cold her room was. Bella looked up and saw her window wide open. _Huh, I'm sure that was closed when I left this morning.' _Bella looked out the window; the street was quiet and still and it was almost dark out. It was twilight. She closed the window, turned around and…

"Holy shit," Bella jumped and started to fall down but Alice grabbed her and held her upright, steadying Bella on her feet. "Jesus Christ Alice, what the... how did… why are you…?"

Alice giggled, "Are you going to ask a complete question any time soon?" Bella's heart was racing and Alice could hear and smell the blood pumping furiously around Bella's warm, human body. She was glad she had hunted before this visit and was therefore perfectly capable of coping with the rushing blood and Bella's near constant blushing around her. Alice smiled again, _silly human._

"Alice, what the hell are you doing in my room? How did you get in?" Bella's heart was still racing and she struggled to get it under control due to Alice's close proximity. That's when she noticed Alice's eyes – they were a vivid gold colour. _Weren't they black earlier?_ She noticed that Alice still felt very, very, very cold. Bella was also acutely aware how hard and smooth Alice's body felt, and how strong she was whilst holding her up _She's like a rock! Who… what… is this girl?_ _Should I be worried here? _Bella thought. She shivered and Alice let go of her. Bella immediately missed her touch. Alice was so cold, but soothing, reassuring and steady. She was safe. Bella liked it.

"I wanted to see you. So I climbed the tree when I walked by and saw your window open."

_The window was closed, I'm sure it was. Wasn't it?_ "Why didn't you use the front door like a normal person?"

"I wanted to surprise you." Alice shrugged, smiling at Bella.

"Well, it worked; consider the job a complete success." Bella finally had her heartbeat and her body under control. She moved over to her bed and sat down, minimising the risk of falling over or any more stupid clumsiness. "Did you want something in particular or did you just want to scare me to death?" Bella asked, with a smile in her voice so Alice knew she was ok with her sudden visit.

"I wanted to ask you to go shopping with me on Saturday."

Bella froze; apart from her mouth opening and closing, but nothing coming out. Alice just stared at her amused, knowing she would say yes once she got over her shock. "Bella, you're not a guppy." she giggled.

"Umm, shopping? Does it have to be shopping?" Bella groaned the last part, blushing furiously. _Damn it Bella, stop blushing around this girl, _she yelled at herself.

Alice laughed at Bella, loving the way the girl was reacting toward her. "Yes, shopping. I told you at school, you need some help and I have plenty of free time and thought I would take you. I usually go with Rosalie but she can't come this weekend." Alice smiled warmly at Bella, watching as Bella smiled shyly at her.

"Um, don't you have better things to do than hang out with me? In a mall?"

"Nope. I live to shop and have decided that since we are going to be best friends I should help you with your wardrobe. I had a look earlier and you have nothing suitable. Nothing fits and it's all grey and black. There are other colours in the spectrum you know."

"Hey, I like my clothes thank you very much," Bella was getting a little angry "I like not attracting attention and these clothes suit me just fine."

"Bella," Alice sighed softly. "Why do you have this need to hide from everyone? It's really not necessary, you know. You are a beautiful girl and you should show it. You just need a good wardrobe and some confidence. I can help, if you let me."

Bella looked at Alice in silent wonder. _What did I do to get this lucky?_ "Ugh, ok but I warn you, I will be incredibly grumpy and resistant. I hate shopping with a passion."

"Your defences won't work on me, Bella Swan. I am relentless when it comes to shopping and getting my way," Alice laughed. "I'll see you on Saturday then, bright and early."

"How early?" Bella asked suspiciously

"The mall opens at eight and closes at six, so I'll pick you up at seven."

"Ten hours? Ten hours of shopping? I'd rather have a root canal without anaesthetic!" Bella yelled loudly. _Ten hours with you? Oh my god, I'll never stay upright! _Bella thought silently

"Oh don't be such a drama queen. Ten hours should be plenty of time to get you sorted out and looking gorgeous." Alice confirmed, way too cheerfully.

Bella knew she was never going to say no; she couldn't give up ten hours with Alice and the chance to get to know her better. The shopping? Well maybe she could endure it "OK, see you at seven then."

"It's a date," Alice replied, watching and smiling as Bella went bright red, as she knew she would with that comment. "I'll let myself out, through the front door like normal people. See you tomorrow at school, Bella."

Bella just nodded dumbly as Alice left, her head spinning that last comment round and round. _It's a date. It's a date. _She heard the front door close and fell backwards on her bed. She lay there staring at the ceiling.

_I have a date with Alice Cullen_. _Shopping._ _How the hell did that happen?_


	4. Chapter 4

_Italics – thoughts_

_**Italics – dreams or visions**_

**Disclaime****r: I don't own Twilight or its fantastic characters. I've never owned it in the past and I will never own it in the future - Stephanie Meyer has this honour. I do own my mistakes though, and I'm sure there will be many **

**Authors Note: I'm ecstatic that people are enjoying this story – so far! To those who asked questions about my story, I have tried to answer them over the next few chapters. Hope it worked. If not, well at least I tried **

**Warning, warning - t****his is a femslash story. Don't like? Don't read – Simples!**

**Let's go…**

**Chapter Four**

It was Wednesday and Bella was getting used to Forks High; hanging out with Mike, Eric, Jessica and Angela. And Alice.

It was so strange; Bella felt as though she had known Alice her whole life after just a couple of days. Bella thought back to Monday when she saw Alice for the first time. '_Why didn't I find it weird that the girl I dreamt about was real? Am I psychic now?' _

She thought about Alice appearing in her bedroom '_I should have totally freaked but I didn't. Why? What it is about her that over-rides any normal reaction, any sense of self-preservation? If she asked me to follow her into a volcano I would and that's just nuts!__'_

It was highly unusual for Bella to warm to people so fast. Her best friend in Phoenix only became her best friend after almost a whole semester. But Bella just felt pulled to Alice. Plus, having Alice as a lab partner was superb, she was so smart. It was almost as if she knew everything already. Bella's grades were on the rise thanks to Alice.

Bella also found she was looking forward to their "date" on Saturday, although she was dreading the shopping. She made her feelings clear to Alice every opportunity she got, but Alice, as always, just laughed her off. She was not getting out of it, that's for sure.

School was out and Bella was strolling very carefully to her car, listening to her iPod. It had been snowing and raining all day, and the ground was extremely slippery and slushy. '_Ugh, I hate the weather here. I'm too un-coordinated for this crap!' _Bella had already fallen over numerous times that day, but by now everyone knew what a walking disaster area she was. Some helped her up when she fell. Others, fearing for their lives, steered clear. Bella did not blame them one bit. She glanced over at Alice. She was stood by her car on the other side of the parking lot with some of her siblings, obviously waiting for the rest of them to show up. Bella waved and did her best to ignore the other Cullen's that were already there. As she waved she stepped right on to a patch of black ice and slid, quite impressively, the rest of the way to her truck. Luckily she managed to stay upright by grabbing her side view mirror for support. Bella glanced around, hoping no-one had seen her but she caught Alice trying, and failing miserably, to hide her laughter. Bella shook her head and laughed back, throwing her backpack on to the hood of the truck. She was so engrossed in her music, rummaging through her bag, and thinking about Alice, Bella never saw or heard the car screeching towards her as it sped out of control on the slippery surface.

Bella looked around at the last second and knew she couldn't get out of the way in time. She squeezed her eyes shut and waited for the inevitable impact, the impact that would most likely kill her. The impact came, but not the one Bella was expecting. Someone ploughed into Bella's side, pushing her out of the way of the oncoming car. Together they rolled over on the asphalt, whoever it was cushioning Bella from the worst of the fall. Bella felt grazes appear on her hands as they rolled. She also hit her head, causing a very large bump to rise up angrily. They finally stopped rolling after what felt like a lifetime and Bella got to look at her saviour. Expecting to see one of the football or wrestling team guys, someone big, Bella was shocked – it was Alice!

"A… Alice? How did y… How did you get over so fast?"

"Shh, please don't ask questions. I'll explain later I promise. I have to go." And as fast as Alice appeared, she vanished. The other students ran frantically over to Bella, more than one of them calling 911.

"Bella, are you ok?" Mike was first to reach her after Alice ran off. "Jesus Christ, you were almost killed. How did you get out of the way?" Mike asked anxiously.

"Bella." The driver of the car called over to her. His airbag had deployed and he had got away with what looked liked a cut on his head. "Are you alright? Please tell me you're alright."

Bella looked at her truck for the first time since the accident. It had withstood the impact from the car pretty well. '_Thank God for Charlie and his good choice in transportation.'_ The car, however, was completely crushed at the front, parts strewn all around the parking lot. "I'm ok I think," Bella let the worried driver know she was not badly hurt "just some grazes and cuts." She became aware of a throbbing pain on her forehead. She held her hand up to the bump and paled when she saw her own blood on her hand "Ow." she whispered faintly.

"Jesus, I'm so sorry. I just lost control. I forgot to put the snow tyres on my car and…"

"Hey, don't stress out, I'm ok. Could have been worse if Alice hadn't pushed me out the way."

"Alice? Alice Cullen?" Mike asked. He had a confused look on his face "I never saw her do that. I think you must've hit your head harder than you think." Mike started checking her head for wounds other than the bump but Bella pushed him off.

"What are you talking about Mike? She was right here, she pushed me ou…" Bella was cut off by the ambulance crew arriving. They rushed over to her and despite her insistence that she was alright and didn't need any help; they took her to the hospital to be checked out.

When the ambulance arrived at the Emergency Room, with Bella still protesting, Charlie was already there waiting for her. "Bella, are you ok? I heard the call come in and came straight here. What the hell happened?"

"I'm fine Dad, really. None of this is necessary."

"Well I'll let Dr Cullen tell me that if you don't mind. He's the one with the medical degree."

By now Bella was in a cubicle, sitting on a bed, waiting to be seen. "Dr Cullen? Is he Alice's dad?"

"You know Alice? Yeah, he's her dad. A great doctor and a great man. We're very lucky to have him here."

'_I'm going to meet another Cullen.'_ Bella thought. She heard the curtain around the cubicle being pulled back and looked up. Dr Cullen stood there, a curious look on his face as he saw Bella for the first time, which soon gave way to a professional demeanour.

Bella, in the meantime, was stunned. Dr Cullen looked just like Alice and the rest of the family. '_Whoa, he's handsome. And young! Is he really a doctor? How did he get to adopt teenagers? Hold on, they're all adopted. How can they all look like their adoptive dad? Oh my head hurts.'_

"Hello Bella. It's nice to meet Chief Swan's daughter at last. I only wish it were under better circumstances. I hear you narrowly escaped a car today. That was very lucky."

"Luck had nothing to with it; Alice pushed me out of the way. Although I have no idea how since she was nowhere near me."

A worried look brushed quickly over Dr Cullen's face, but it vanished as fast as it had appeared. "Well, you hit your head; your mind can play tricks on you. You are very lucky, only cuts and scratches, which will heal in a few days. It doesn't look like you have a concussion, just a nasty bump. But if you start to feel dizzy or sick please come back in straight away. I'll give you an ointment to help speed the healing process and you are free to go. Charlie, good to see you again"

"Thanks Doc."

The two men shook hands and Dr Cullen left, leaving Bella with Charlie. A nurse came in, and gave Bella some cream for her cuts and repeated the strict instructions to come back if she felt ill. Bella agreed without arguing, she just wanted to get out of the hospital. Bella and Charlie made their way out of the hospital and headed towards Charlie's car. Bella breathed in the crisp, cold air, glad to be outside again. That was when Bella noticed Alice waiting in the parking lot, leaning against another expensive looking car.

Alice ran over to Bella and Charlie, a concerned look plastered all over her face. "Bella, are you alright?"

She sounded so concerned and worried Bella felt almost guilty for all the suspicious questions that had been running through her head about her family. "Yeah I'm fine Alice, just cuts and grazes." _Thanks to you._

"Would you like to come with me for a drive? So we can talk?"

Bella knew she had to ask the questions that had been on her mind ever since she met Alice; they were now officially driving her crazy. "Dad, I'm gonna go with Alice, if that's ok. I'm fine really, don't worry."

"Hmmm, ok. If you're sure. I'll get one of the boys to pick up your truck and bring it home. They checked it over earlier, no damage. You'll call me though if you start to feel bad?"

"I promise. Thanks dad, I'll see you later." Bella and Alice headed, arm in arm, towards Alice's car, which turned out to be a bright yellow Porsche 911 Turbo. "Great car Alice. Very… bright." Bella smiled and Alice beamed. They took off, Alice's driving easily matching that of a professional race car driver. Bella glanced at the speedometer; they were going 115 miles an hour! She held on to the dash as if her life depended on it. "Alice, who the hell taught you to drive, Jimmie Johnson? I've already been in one car accident today; can you please slow down a little?"

Alice looked sheepish and slowed the car down to 90 miles an hour. "Sorry, I forget huma… people aren't used to my driving."

Bella caught the slip but decided to let it go "We need to talk Alice. I know something is… different about you."

"I know but not here. We're almost there."

"Where?"

"My house."


	5. Chapter 5

_Italics – thoughts_

_**Italics – dreams or visions**_

**Disclaime****r: I don't own Twilight or its fantastic characters. I've never owned it in the past and I will never own it in the future - Stephanie Meyer has this honour. I do own my mistakes though, and I'm sure there will be many **

**Authors Note: Considering this is my first time writing anything at all, let alone fan fiction, the response so far has really made it easy to keep going. Seeing all those emails flood in with alerts, faves and reviews makes my day. And as my days often suck, I get a big lift from them. So BIG THANKS to everybody who has reviewed etc and I really hope you continue to enjoy my story. **

**Usual warning - this is a femslash story. Don't like? Don't read – Simples!**

**Chapter Five**

Bella was in the car with Alice, currently on their way to the Cullen house. Bella had a sense in the pit of her stomach that her life was going to change completely, but she had no idea how. '_Am I ready for what I might hear?' _Bella asked herself. She was momentarily distracted as Alice pulled off the main road on to a virtually concealed road, winding through the forest. Bella gawped as Alice pulled up outside a huge house hidden away in the woods. It was a beautiful piece of architecture. It had floor to ceiling windows, wood panelling to blend in with the surroundings, and looked very modern. '_How does a house like this even exist in Forks? So not what I imagined' _Bella thought to herself.

The two girls got out of the car silently, but instead of going inside, Alice started to lead Bella towards the woods. Bella was still quite sore from the accident and the numerous falls of the day, and she didn't think she could face a hike in the woods. "Alice, where are we going?"

"We're heading up the mountain. I'm taking you to a special place to me. It's where I go when I need to think and be alone. I want to show you Bella."

"Al, I really don't think I am up to hiking right now. I'm sore and being amongst nature with trees and branches, I'm sure I will fall over even more. I've really, really had enough of falling for one day." Bella pleaded.

Alice stared at Bella, weighing up whether she should do what she was about to do, and wishing she knew with complete certainty that everything was going to turn out as she hoped it would. Since getting close to Bella, her visions were a little cloudy and changing constantly. Alice knew that until Bella was aware of everything about her, they probably wouldn't be clear. She made up her mind. _'Nothing ventured, nothing gained'. _"Do you trust me Bella?" Alice asked, slightly nervously.

Bella looked into Alice's beautiful, hypnotic eyes and knew that despite what Alice was going to tell her, despite what she might find out, she did indeed trust Alice. "I really do."

"Then hold on." As soon as Alice said that, she grabbed Bella gently so she didn't hurt her and swung her onto her back, holding her securely. Before Bella could take in what had happened, she was flying! Bella instinctively closed her eyes, fearing she might be sick as the world rushed past them. But when she opened them again they were moving through the woods at such an incredible speed and Bella was not scared. It was exhilarating and it took her breath away. She held on to Alice tightly. Alice was running straight up the mountain, ploughing through the nature that surely would have tripped Bella multiple times. The scenery rushed passed them in a blur and within minutes they arrived at a clearing at the top of the mountain.

Alice placed Bella down gently and Bella took in her new surroundings while she got her breath back. '_Why does this place seem so familiar? Have I been here bef… Oh my god! It's the clearing from my dream.'_ Bella saw briefly that they were overlooking the entire town of Forks. _Hey, there's my house' _There was no cloud cover this high up and Bella would have marvelled at the breath-taking scenery had she not turned around right then and looked at Alice. Bella's breath hitched in her throat as she took in the sight that stood before her. To Bella's complete amazement, Alice was sparkling! It looked as though she was covered in millions of little diamonds; the sun was shining down on her and she was a stunning vision.

'_No-one could look more beautiful than she does right now.' _Bella cleared her throat and finally found her voice "What are you Alice?" she whispered, not stopping to consider what she might hear in response.

Alice took a deep, although unnecessary, breath and revealed the secret that would change Bella's life forever "I'm a vampire Bella."

"Wh… what?" Bella whispered.

"I'm a vampire" Alice repeated

"No, I… I uh… heard you but I wanted to make sure I heard correctly. You're a vampire?"

Alice just nodded her head

"You mean like Buffy? As in fangs and ugly, bumpy faces? Oh shit, will you explode?"

"God that show has a lot to answer for" Alice muttered. "No, we don't have fangs or ugly, bumpy faces and we certainly don't explode. But yes, still a vampire".

Bella just stared at Alice. For quite a while. "Uh huh. Okay." Bella took this information in, nodding her head slowly. As the revelation sunk in, Bella came to realise that simple statement made a lot of things she had noticed over the last 3 days make sense. The cold hands, the incredible strength, the changing eye colour, the speed. "Huh, you know what? That actually explains a lot. Is it just you? Are your whole family vampires too? Is that why they either glare at me or laugh at me? Oh my god, do they want to kill me?"

Alice looked on, highly amused and more than a little relieved. Of all possible responses to her statement, this rambling interrogation was not one that Alice thought would come up. In fact, one of the visions she had seen about this very moment had Bella running away, screaming. "My family? I just told you I'm a vampire and you are worried about what my family think of you? What makes you think they have been laughing or glaring at you? And why on earth would you think they want to kill you?"

"Well, Rosalie definitely glares at me every time I look at her. If looks could kill I'm pretty sure I'd be on life support by now." Bella shifted uncomfortably. Rosalie made her feel very timid. "Emmett doesn't pay any attention to me, and the other guys definitely have smirks on their faces every time they look at me."

Alice laughed and sat down on a fallen tree. She patted the spot next to her. "Come and sit down and I'll explain everything." They sat down together, Bella unconsciously leaning close to Alice. "Starting with one of your questions, yes, my whole family are vampires. We were all adopted by Carlisle and Esme. Esme, Edward, Rosalie and Emmett were turned by Carlisle. I can't remember who turned me and I found Jasper shortly after I was turned. Jasper and I sought out the Cullen's after I saw them in a vision. I didn't want a typical vampire lifestyle. I don't ever want to be a monster." Alice looked sad briefly but continued her story "Jasper and I got lucky, they took us in and made us part of their family." Alice paused to look at Bella, making sure she was following the story.

"We all moved to Forks two years ago. The younger we say we are, the longer we can stay in one place before people get suspicious. We are very different from other vampires; we only drink blood from animals. I have never drunk from a human." Alice revealed proudly.

"Some of us have special abilities. The smirking you see from Edward is because he can read thoughts and knows what I have been thinking about you. And you about me." Alice giggled as Bella looked mortified.

"Jasper is an empath. He can feel and manipulate emotions and he knows what I have been feeling about you. He can feel your emotions as well and laughs at how flustered you get." Alice laughed again, watching as the blood rose to Bella's cheeks. '_Oh she smells good.' _Alice continued with her story_ "_Don't worry, they both like you already. As for Rosalie, she just worries because you are human. She believes humans are nothing but trouble, but I can handle her. Her bark's worse than her bite" Alice laughed at her little joke. "As for me, like I said, I get visions of the future but they can easily change depending on people's decisions. I saw you coming to Forks and I saw us becoming friends. From the very first vision, I couldn't wait to meet you." Alice smiled, taking Bella's hand in hers. "But when I first met you your scent completely overwhelmed me. It was so hard to keep control and not hurt you Bella. Or worse."

"But you did keep control."

"Yes I did but it was hard, Bella. I am better at keeping the monster within under control than others in my family, apart from Carlisle. Jasper struggles the most; he is the newest to our 'vegetarian lifestyle'. Anyway, once I was in control my eyes turned gold again. I know you noticed when I visited you the other night. But after that first meeting I knew, I just knew we would be more than friends. But I also knew I would have to tell you everything. My family works hard to keep our secret Bella and telling a human has its risks. But I don't feel it's a risk with you Bella. You're… different, for a human. Besides I risked revealing us when I saved you from the car."

Bella looked relieved; getting the confirmation that she hadn't been crazy earlier that day. "I knew it! I knew it wasn't a head injury; you did push me out of the way. Thank you for that by the way. But I still don't understand. Why me? You have eternity, you're beautiful and you have super powers. I'm just an awkward, clumsy, danger-magnet human with, according to you, dreadful dress sense."

"Because, Bella Swan, you are truly irresistible to me. Visions or no visions I could never keep away from you."

Alice gazed at Bella and leaned in closer, closer and closer. The anticipation was killing Bella. She could smell Alice's scent as it washed over her in the gentle breeze of the mountain; it was so sweet and mouth-watering. She could feel Alice's cool breath blow gently across her lips as Alice edged ever closer. Time seemed to stand still as Bella waited for the moment their lips would meet. Bella also waited for the inevitable interruption but it didn't arrive, not this time. Finally their lips met for the first time, fire against ice, and they kissed. And kissed. And kissed. '_Is this really happening?' _Bella was amazed how soft Alice's lips were, she was expecting them to be hard. Bella cupped Alice's face, deepening the kiss. Bella had no idea how much time had passed but the need to breathe forced their lips apart. They broke away and just stared at each other. Alice's eyes were still gold but turning noticeably darker.

"Wow." Bella was tingling all over, her heart racing. _My first kiss with a girl. A vampire girl! How did my life come to this? I wanna do that again.'_

Alice giggled "Wow is an understatement. That was… something else."

"Your eyes are getting dark again. Do you need to… you know…?"

"Uh... ha ha… no. Hunting is not the issue this time. Vampires eyes also go dark when they are… aroused." Alice admitted.

"Oh my god." Bella went very red at that but she was also kind of pleased with herself. '_I can make a vampire feel like that? Yay me!_' "I can't believe how fast this is happening Alice. I feel like I've known you my whole life. You are…" Bella stopped as she noticed Alice staring off into the distance. She waved her hand in front of Alice's face and got no response. "Alice? Alice, are you ok?"

Alice snapped back into reality and shot her dazzling smile at Bella. Bella smiled back, waiting for Alice to explain what happened "I'm sorry, I just got a vision. Now I know you are not going to run away screaming, I can ask. Bella, how would you like to meet the rest of my family?"

Bella gulped "Now? Um, I don't know. What if they don't like me?"

"You're going to meet a family of vampires and you're worried they won't like you? In all my years I've never met a human quite like you."

"Is that a good thing?" Bella joked. "Actually, I would love to meet them. How is it going to turn out? Is that what your vision was about?"

"Yes. When you made the decision to meet them I saw the most likely outcome. But Bella, my visions change all the time. They are clearer now but not set in stone. Rosalie could possibly be a problem."

Bella paled

"But, even the worst case scenario is not too bad, I promise. All I will say is everything will be ok and don't worry; I won't ever let anything happen to you. Besides, if I tell you everything from my visions there will be no surprises, no spontaneity." Alice smiled.

"But I wanna know." Bella grumbled.

Alice shook her head "Nope."

"Stupid all seeing vampire." Bella muttered.

Alice tapped her ear "Vampire super hearing." Alice revealed. Bella grumbled again to herself, making Alice laugh. "Come on Bella, let's go meet the family."

Bella stood up and winced. '_Ooh, ow!' _Her body had got stiff while they were sitting down and Bella was feeling the effects of the day even more.

"Are you still in pain?" Alice asked.

"No, I'm just sore. I've had worse, its fine honestly."

Alice hated that Bella had suffered worse injuries in her life. She held her hands out to Bella "Come on."

Bella took Alice's cold hands and once again was swung gently onto Alice's back. This time Bella kept her eyes open the whole time. It was a truly an amazing ride, Alice ran so smoothly. '_This should be a ride at Disneyland. I'd queue 2 hours for this any time.' _Bella could feel the wind pushing her hair behind her, whistling around her ears and she felt so safe. She held on to Alice and within minutes they were back at the Cullen house. Bella glanced at the house and gulped, suddenly feeling very nervous.

"It's going to be ok, are you ready?" Alice asked. Bella nodded "Let's go then." Alice gave Bella a short, sweet kiss, took her hand, and together they entered the house.

The house where vampires lived.


	6. Chapter 6

_Italics – thoughts_

_**Italics – dreams or visions**_

**Disclaime****r: I don't own Twilight or its fantastic characters. I've never owned it in the past and I will never own it in the future - Stephanie Meyer has this honour. I do own my mistakes though, and I'm sure there will be many **

**AN2: Ok, I've been hinted at and asked outright for some M rated fun and goodness. I have written a couple of scenes in upcoming chapters and while I love to read it in fics – I just can't seem to write it! Seriously, I am really considering taking it out of my story because it sucks so badly. I will try and work on it but unless I get anywhere near to liking it I may not post it. I will do my very best though so please bear with me.**

**Usual warning - this is a femslash story. Don't like? Don't read – Simples!**

**Chapter Six**

"Here comes the human." Rosalie muttered. Esme turned and shot a glare at her. Rosalie had the grace to look a little ashamed and bit back another sarcastic comment.

The two girls entered the kitchen together, holding hands. Bella was visibly nervous as she took in the sight of six incredibly gorgeous and handsome vampires all staring at her. She froze and gripped Alice's hand tightly, feeling slightly overwhelmed. Alice squeezed her hand back reassuringly and flashed her beautiful smile at Bella. The smile which causes her eyes to crinkle up and make Bella feel weak at the knees. Bella felt a wave of calm and confidence flow over her. She glanced at Jasper, assuming it had come from him, and nodded gratefully.

All the vampires were deliberately holding back, none of them wanting to scare Bella on her first visit to their home. Realising that none of them were going to make the first move, Alice stepped up. Alice pulled Bella gently towards Carlisle and Esme "Bella, I'd like you to meet Carlisle and Esme, my 'parents' so to speak."

Carlisle spoke first "Bella, it's lovely to see you again. I trust you are feeling better?"

Bella stepped forward and held her hand out to Carlisle, wanting to show she wasn't scared. "Yes, thank you Dr Cullen. A little sore still but I'm ok."

"Oh please, call me Carlisle." He shook her hand gently and released it as Esme stepped forward next, her arms outstretched and a large smile on her face.

"Bella, I'm Esme and I'm so very delighted to meet you. I'm glad you weren't seriously hurt today." Esme hugged Bella gently but warmly. Bella returned the hug hesitantly at first, but she soon relaxed into it. The hug was making her realise how much she missed that sort of comfort from her own mom. But Bella couldn't blame Renee for her ending up in Forks; look what it led her to.

Alice spoke up again "Bella, this is Emmett, Rosalie, Edward & Jasper. I know you know who's who, but now you've met them all officially." Alice bounced on her feet lightly as she made the introductions.

Emmett approached first and gave Bella a huge bear hug, lifting her off the ground with ease and spinning her around "Bella, so glad you're here. Haven't had a new sis for years!"

Bella felt the pressure on her ribs and was starting to see spots in her eyes. "Ugh… breathing… becoming an issue… Emmett."

"Emmett put Bella down NOW!" Alice yelled at him.

He put her back on her own two feet and grinned at her. "Sorry Bella. It's just so nice to finally meet the girl who has our little Short Round all loved up." he grinned. Alice poked her tongue out at Emmett at his use of one of her many nicknames.

"I'm really pleased to meet you too, Emmett, really. Just let me breathe a little next time ok?" Bella joked, letting him know she wasn't mad.

Emmett clicked his tongue at Bella "No problem." He went and stood by Rosalie, nudging her as the scowl on her face deepened.

Bella turned to Edward next, he was nearest to her. "Hi Edward, it's good to meet you. Do me a favour? Little less mind-reading please when I'm around Alice?"

Edward laughed "I'll see what I can do, but really Bella, your thoughts are very… entertaining." Edward smiled. "And it's very nice to meet you too."

Alice raised an eyebrow at Edward's comment and smiled slyly at Bella. Bella felt the familiar feeling of blood rushing to her face but tried to get it under control quickly. '_OK,_ _not a good idea to blush when meeting your girlfriend's vampire family for the first time_.' She turned quickly to look at Jasper. She remembered from Alice's story that he was the one who struggled the most around humans. "Jasper, are you ok? Do you need me to leave?" Bella wanted to be considerate; she was the guest in Jasper's home and didn't want to cause him any problems.

"Not at all Bella, I am pleased to meet you. Please forgive me not shaking your hand; your blushing is quite the temptation." He looked at Alice who smiled reassuringly at him.

"Don't worry Jasper, you won't hurt her."

Bella smiled at him "Thank you Jasper. And thank you for being honest with me." Bella turned to Rosalie who had been hanging back, glaring at her as she met everybody. "Hi Rosalie." Bella held her hand out to the one vampire who scared her, not really expecting her to take it. To her surprise, she did!

"Hello Bella." Rosalie spoke stiffly. Although she shook her hand it was not welcoming, not like the others. Even Jasper, who was keeping his distance, was friendlier.

"Rose, don't worry. Bella will not tell anyone about us. You can trust her." Alice spoke up, knowing that Bella was worrying about Rosalie not liking her and at the same time trying to appease Rosalie. She could be very unpredictable at times and Alice did not want this meeting to turn into a horror movie.

"Trust takes time Alice. But I trust YOU. I never bet against you so if you say things will be ok then fine." Rosalie turned to Bella once again "Bella, I don't hate you. I just have trouble trusting humans. Alice has told you about us?"

Bella nodded shyly. "She's told me the background, about how you came to be a family and the gifts some of you have."

Edward had to ask. "And you're not afraid? Bella, no human has ever been this close to vampires before, not unless they were the meal. This is as new to us as it is to you."

"I'm not afraid. Alice told me you don't drink from people. That it's still a struggle for all of you. But even before I knew that I wasn't afraid. I honestly don't know why. It's just a… gut feeling." Bella turned back to Rosalie "You really don't have to worry with me, Rosalie, I promise. Well, unless you try to bite me." Bella joked, doing her best to relieve the tension between them both. To Bella's relief everyone laughed, and Rosalie even managed a slight smile. Bella was starting to feel she could finally relax properly.

Alice looked thrilled to bits with the way things had gone. She had known everyone would be ok, but, with Rosalie, she could never quite tell. With the introductions out of the way, everyone turned back to what they had been doing before the girls came in. Carlisle and Esme went outside, Rosalie picked up a car magazine and the boys picked up the Wiimotes and proceeded to thrash each other on what looked like Super Mario Bros.

"Bella, come with me. I want to show you around." Alice took Bella's hand and led her upstairs, forcing herself to stay at a human pace so Bella would not trip. "Okay, that's Rosie & Emmett's room, that's Edwards, that's Jaspers, that's Carlisle & Esme's and this… this is my room" Alice led her in and Bella looked around. The room was so… Alice. It was warm and inviting. There were drawings and sketches all over the walls and windows and a huge TV in the corner. Alice's DVD collection took up a whole wall, it was incredible. And the closet? Simply put, the closet scared Bella to death.

"Alice, this house, this room, was so not what I was expecting." Bella admitted.

"Well what did you expect? A castle with coffins and bats and hot, sexy vampire brides living in the basement?" Alice joked.

"No, not the bats. And there's a hot sexy vampire in this room. Who needs them in the basement as well?" Bella joked back. Bella looked at the DVD lined wall "Alice, do you have every DVD in existence in this room?"

Alice giggled "Pretty much. I have a lot of time on my hands and I enjoy movies. Do you have a favourite?"

"I dunno. I like most movies, my favourites change all the time. At the moment it's Finding Nemo" Bella laughed and continued to look around.

"Good choice. And I will be getting a bed very, very soon." Alice winked at Bella.

Bella had just noticed there was no bed in the room, just an over-sized bean bag, and that was going to be her next question. This future-seeing would take some getting used to. "Do you need a bed?"

"No, vampires don't sleep. Ever. But we need something comfortable to lie on when we make out. I don't think the bean-bag will cut it." Alice laughed, watching as Bella blushed again. "You really do blush a lot don't you?"

"I can't help it. Stop making comments like that and I won't."

"But I like it. It's very human. And very you""

"I don't want you to feel you might lose control because of it. Or Jasper. Or anybody else. Your family is so loving and sweet; I don't want to cause them pain." Bella looked down, suddenly finding her feet the most interesting thing in the world. She was acutely aware that her clumsy nature, her blushing and just simply being a human, could cause them all sorts of problems when they were around her. And she hated that.

Alice gently placed her hand under Bella's chin and forced her to look up. "Bella, please relax. Everyone loves you already. Well maybe not Rose, but everyone else definitely. We all knew what to expect when I invited you into this family and we can cope. Really." Alice ran her cool fingers up and down Bella's cheek, and then cupped her face, holding her gaze. "Bella Swan, I am falling for you more and more with every minute that passes. You WILL be a part of this family and you CAN be your normal, lovable, clumsy self." Alice placed a tender kiss on Bella's warm lips. _So, so warm. And soft' _It soon turned heated and once again Alice was aware of Bella's need to breathe. She pulled away reluctantly, watching as Bella's dazed look wore off. Alice giggled "I REALLY need to get that bed when we go shopping this weekend."

"That's something to look forward to then," Bella joked. She turned serious again for a moment; there were some things on her mind that had been bothering her. "Alice, about your visions."

"What about them?"

"You said you saw me coming, saw us being more than friends, and me being a part of your family. Does that mean that… uh… I have no say in it?"

"Absolutely not. Bella, it has been your decisions so far that have confirmed the outcome of my visions. After what I told you, had you decided to stay away from me, what I saw would have changed completely. Do you understand?"

"I think so. But I can't get my head around how fast this has happened. It's like as soon as I met you something inside of me clicked and it felt so right. I feel like… I had a hole inside of me that I never knew was there until something filled it. You filled it Alice and I don't understand why. I've never fallen so hard, so fast before. It's not like me at all. I've never even been attracted to a girl before but I take one look at you and…" Bella was on a roll now "Not to mention the fact I dreamed about you and the clearing on the mountain before I even met you. You're the one with the visions, not me! You even broke into my house and I was just 'Oh come on in!' That's insane Alice. My dad's a cop, I KNOW not to have strange people in the house, let alone my bedroom. I feel like everything that's happening, although I like it very much, is beyond my control. I just… I just need to know. I need to understand. What's happening here?"

Alice sighed; she had seen this little outburst coming. She knew Bella was struggling internally with the ease in which she had accepted Alice into her life, it went against her nature and she needed answers. "Bella, I don't know for sure what is going on here. Like you, I don't let people into my life easily either, for obvious reasons. But all I can think of is this. Amongst vampires, there is a belief some of us hold. We believe that there is a mate out there for every vampire, a singer. Someone whose blood sings to one specific vampire, drawing them in and making the person impossible for a vampire to resist. Not every vampire meets their singer but after meeting you in Bio, breathing in your delicious scent, I truly believe you are mine. I believe that you were born to have a life with me and that I was created for you. And no matter how long I exist, no-one else will ever replace you in my life or my heart. We were made for each other Bella."

"Really? So I'm not insane? Or idiotic? This is completely normal?"

Alice simply nodded her head "Normal for vampires, yes. Time is different for us Bella. You see this as incredibly fast, I see it as… months. Don't forget I saw you coming so I've been waiting even longer. I thought I was going to go insane waiting for you to arrive."

"That's actually kind of… romantic." Bella leaned in to kiss Alice again. Bella's heart rate shot through the roof and her legs gave out from under her. Bella was vaguely aware that Alice was holding her up, but she couldn't stop. Kissing Alice was like a potent drug. Alice was her addiction. She flung her arms around Alice's neck, deepening the kiss.

"GOTCHA!" Emmett yelled as he flung himself into the bedroom. Bella yelped as Alice dropped her and she fell to the floor.

"GODDAMMIT EMMETT!" Alice yelled as she launched herself at him, pushing him out of the room. "GET OUT OF MY ROOM!"

Bella lay on the floor, laughing at the sight of the tiny figure of Alice pushing a huge bear like Emmett out the door. After Alice slammed the door in his face, she joined Bella on the floor. They could still hear Emmett laughing outside.

"Didn't see that coming did ya?" Bella teased.

"I was distracted. Now shut up and kiss me."

Bella needed no further invitation. Fire met Ice again and the world disappeared.


	7. Chapter 7

_Italics – thoughts_

_**Italics – dreams or visions**_

**Disclaime****r: I don't own Twilight or its fantastic characters. I've never owned it in the past and I will never own it in the future - Stephanie Meyer has this honour. I do own my mistakes though, and I'm sure there will be many **

**AN: Thanks to everyone who has reviewed. I'm so glad you are still with me on this. Keep reviewing, they really make my day. **

**AN2: I changed the rating just to be on the safe side but please don't expect anything major. I am working on it for a future chapter but am still not happy with it.**

**Usual warning - this is a femslash story. Don't like? Don't read – Simples!**

**Chapter Seven**

Bella was thinking back over the crazy week she had just endured. She had started a new school and found new friends. By Wednesday evening she'd met a girl she thought was sex on legs, had a car accident, got saved by sexy girl, made her first trip to the Forks Emergency Department, got a girlfriend, found out said girlfriend was a vampire and then met said girlfriends vampire family.

But that was nothing compared to what was about to happen.

Bella glanced at the sky above her. It looked ominous, as though it was about to start throwing down hail and sleet any second. In the distance she could hear the faint rumblings of a storm. _'OK Bella, you can do this. It'll be ok, it'll be over soon. You're a strong woman.'_ Bella took a deep breath, exhaled, and turned to find Alice staring at her with a raised eyebrow and her arms crossed. Bella was confused. "What? What's wrong?"

"Bella, we are going into a MALL. We are going to shop; you are not walking to your death in front of a firing squad!"

"What's the difference?"

"What's the dif…? Ugh, you are so… so… I don't know what you are but it's really annoying. Now come on, we only have nine hours left to shop. I can't believe you held us up this morning."

Bella grinned as she remembered how her stalling tactics had infuriated Alice. First she had pretended she was ill, complaining she had a cold. That didn't work at all. Apparently, Alice had superior medical knowledge after living with Carlisle all these years. Bella gave up the ruse after Alice threatened her with a flu shot administered with an archaic needle. Next trick on Bella's list? She had pretended there was a problem with the plumbing in the bathroom and couldn't possibly get ready. When that failed she spent an exorbitant amount of time in her tiny closet picking out her outfit. In the end Alice had screamed in exasperation, grabbed Bella's clothes, pushed her in the bathroom and gave her exactly ten minutes to shower and get ready. Bella had always intended to go shopping with the girl but she had enjoyed the look on Alice's face far too much as the tiny pixie got more and more annoyed.

Now Bella was stood outside the mall entrance, preparing herself for the day ahead. Bella felt Alice slip her small hand inside her own and together they walked into the huge torture chamber, aka the mall. Bella had assumed that they would go to the very reasonably sized mall in Port Angeles, reasonable as in small. But oh no, Alice was adamant that they had to go into Seattle for this excursion. Bella gulped as they walked in. The first thing she noticed were all the stares being thrown in their direction. She couldn't blame people for staring; she was after all walking in with the sexiest woman on the planet holding her hand. But even Alice could not distract her from the sheer size of the place as Bella came face to face with the mall map. Five floors!! Five floors full of shops that Alice would no doubt torture her in. Alice clapped her hands in glee, she was so excited. Bella took another deep breath, smiled warily at Alice and that was it. Alice led her off to the first store. The torture had officially begun and there was no backing out now.

**Three**** hours later**

"Alice aren't you done yet?" Bella groaned as yet another outfit flew over the changing room door for her to try on. Bella had lost count of the number of times she had undressed, tried numerous outfits on, and put her own clothes back on. She was losing the will to live, fast!

"That's the last one for this store Bella. How does everything look?" Alice spoke from outside the door.

"Ok I guess. I like the pant suit"

"Great, I'll add it to the pile." Alice heard a thud from inside the dressing room "Bella, are you alright? What was that noise?"

"I'm fine; I just got caught in the trousers."

"Let me in, I'll help." Bella unlocked the door and Alice pushed it open, entering the tiny changing room. Bella was sat on the small chair in the corner, rubbing her elbow. "Aw, poor baby. Here, let me kiss it better."

Alice sat on Bella's lap and held her arm gently. She placed feather light kisses on her elbow, soon moving up Bella's arm and into the crook of her neck. Bella moaned, not wanting Alice to stop. Bella took hold of Alice's hair and moved her face so she could look into her eyes. She kissed Alice deeply, moving her hands from her face and running them down the vampire's arms, eventually resting her hands on Alice's back. Bella felt courage flood through her, she wanted Alice. Both girls had leaned in tightly against each other and both were rubbing gently, trying to create friction. Bella ran her hands under Alice's shirt, feeling the cool smooth skin in contrast to her own. Both girls were moaning, the sensations threatening to overcome them. Bella boldly placed her right hand down the front of Alice's jeans. Alice was wet '_Oh wow, did I cause that?' _Bella continued to kiss Alice passionately and was about to slide her fingers into Alice's sex when she felt a cold, icy hand grip her wrist preventing her from reaching her destination.

"No" Alice moaned. "I can't do this, not yet, not here."

Bella rested her forehead on Alice's "Oh Alice. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make y…"

"Don't apologise. I loved that but… I'm not ready. I can't risk hurting you."

"You won't. I trust you. But if that's how you feel Alice then I won't force you." Bella growled "Grr, I'm all worked up! You kill me Alice, you really do. OK, get out. I'm gonna get dressed and then I need a drink. I need to calm down and you being in here is not helping." she smiled. "Alice, to be honest I've really had enough of trying on clothes. How many more stores are we going to?"

Alice placed a kiss on Bella's nose "Bella, we've only been here three hours. Got a few more stores to hit yet. Don't worry, I promise I won't make you try on much more. OK, get dressed. I'll go and pay."

**Another Four**** Hours Later**

"Mmm Alice, this is heaven." Bella moaned as she snuggled into Alice.

"Really? Are you sure the last one we tried wasn't better?" Alice queried, snuggling into Bella.

"No. This is the one. It feels so good." Bella felt Alice snuggle closer into her body and shivered as Alice's hand moved lightly over her arm. Bella's heart was racing again, being this close to Alice. She looked into her gold eyes and shivered again. _Calm down. After the dressing room earlier I don't want to get worked up again!_

"Are you cold?" Alice asked, starting to move away slightly from Bella.

"No I'm not and don't you dare move. This feels too good to move. I could stay here forever. This is the one." Bella leaned in to kiss Alice and…

"EXCUSE ME LADIES!"

An indignant voice rang through the air loudly. Alice and Bella jumped apart as though they had been electrocuted. They looked to see a man in a badly-fitted suit glaring at them from the foot of the bed. '_Ugh, cheap suit'_ Alice thought. The man spoke again, very indignantly and puffing his chest out. "Ladies, this is a reputable bed store, not a hotel. I'm afraid I will have to ask you both to leave."

Bella blushed profusely, she couldn't believe how carried away they had got trying out the beds. After trying numerous beds over the course of an hour, they had finally found one that was perfect and Bella had momentarily forgotten where they were. Alice however was smiling sweetly at the clerk, dazzling him. "We are going now; we've definitely found the bed we want. Can you please arrange for it to be shipped to this address as soon as possible?" Alice handed the clerk a card with her address on and waited.

With the emphasis on the word 'we' and the little PG show the girls had just put on, it was the clerk's turn to blush. Bella giggled as he became very flustered, looking back and forth between the two girls, obviously liking the idea of them being together but not quite knowing how to react in his place of work. His indignant demeanour was deserting him rapidly and he had to lower his clipboard to conceal his… indignation. "Of course, uh... we can uh… deliver in the next uh… five…days."

"Perfect." Alice clapped her hands and headed to the counter to pay for the luxurious bed. The salesman headed straight for the employee restroom. Bella frowned slightly, trying to think '_How much has she spent today? She won't let me buy anything.' _Alice's Amex was certainly taking a battering on their shopping expedition.

The girls left the bed store. They were finally on the last floor of the mall and Bella was sipping on a Venti Caramel Latte as they strolled along hand in hand, window shopping and chatting away. They approached the Apple Store and as they were about to walk past, Alice stopped abruptly. "Bella, what happened to your iPod? I saw you with it earlier this week but I haven't seen it lately."

Bella wasn't sure what to say. She wanted to let it go but if Alice had seen a vision of this conversation she'd know she was lying. Bella decided to tell the truth. "Umm, it's kinda trashed. I had to throw it out."

"How did that happen?"

"Well… when you saved me from the truck, you kind of… rolled on it and… crushed it."

"Bella Swan, why did you not tell me?"

"In my defence I had a lot to deal with. I was almost killed, I found out you were a va.. you know. Then I met your family. I just forgot about it. In the grand scheme of things my iPod is kind of insignificant."

"That's sweet Bella but I still broke it. I'm getting you a new one." Alice breezed into the store and dazzled one of the clerks. "Hi. I'm buying my girlfriend a new iPod. Can you please get me the largest version of the iPod Touch. Thank you."

The clerk ran off, eager to please the gorgeous girl and ring up the sale. Bella was protesting loudly in the store but Alice was ignoring her. The clerk came back with new iPod and proceeded to demonstrate to the girls all the features. Twenty minutes later they were done.

Bella was still grumbling but she leant over and kissed Alice on the cheek. "Thank you Alice. You shouldn't have, but thank you."

"You're welcome Bella. Now, let's carry on. Ooh, Victoria's Secret!"

"NOT A CHANCE IN HELL ALICE! I am NOT going in that store. It's evil incarnated."

"Oh Bella, stop with the dramatics. Honestly, I think a career in Hollywood beckons. I need some new underwear and that's where I get it. Where else would I get underwear?"

"Walmart?" Bella offered. That was obviously not the right answer as Alice looked on in horror.

"You… you get underwear in... Walmart? Oh no, this won't do. Come with me right now. I'm going to get my underwear and I will help you choose some for yourself. I promise I won't make you try on more than 10 sets."

Bella stood her ground and crossed her arms.

"Ok. Try on five sets without grumbling and…" Alice leaned in to whisper in Bella's ear "…you can watch when I try mine on."

Bella's resolve completely crumbled. Faced with that tempting offer, Alice had her exactly where she wanted her. "Deal."

**Another Two Hours**** Later**

After a total of nine hours of shopping, eating, although not in Alice's case, putting on a display in the bed store, and a very sexy underwear fashion show, both girls were back in Alice's car, finally on the way home to Forks. The car was full to the brim with bags from every major store in the mall. There was barely any room for the two girls.

Bella was completely shattered and her feet were killing her. She had thoroughly enjoyed her day with Alice. But something was niggling at her "Alice? I really appreciate today, it wasn't totally as bad as I expected," she admitted grudgingly. "But I'm…"

"Stop right there. I know what you're going to say. I paid for everything because I wanted to. I invited you to come today, you're my project! With my expert help, all those new clothes are going to make you a different woman Bella Swan. Besides, I'm a future seeing vampire with a direct line into the stock market" she added with a wink.

"OK but next time we go out, I'm paying for something. By the way, where was this fantastic future seeing ability in the bed store when we got busted? That's twice now we could have used your super-power."

"Again, I was very distracted. Can you blame me for not seeing that coming when I have you staring into my eyes?"

Bella giggled "I forgive you. But I'm exhausted and I have used up my shopping quota for at least six months. No more shopping!"

Alice frowned "Six months? Really? But you will need some new clothes for the summer. We only covered Winter and Spring today."

"Summer? In Forks? I really think what I have will be fine Alice."

"But… OK then!" Alice agreed happily.

Bella looked at her suspiciously "What are you so happy about? What do you know?"

"Nothing. I just know you will change your mind. You're home."

Bella looked up, surprised that they were at Charlie's already. "Huh, I really am getting used to hanging out with a vampire. Didn't even notice your driving. Do you want to come in? Stay a while? Charlie won't mind."

Alice beamed "I'd love to."

Between the two of them, mostly Alice, they got all the bags out of the car and into the house. Charlie's expression when they walked in said it all "I don't want to know. Girls and shopping," he muttered, turning back to the TV.

After putting all the new clothes away and Bella getting strict instructions from Alice about what to wear to school on Monday, they were both curled up on Bella's bed. Alice was stroking Bella's hair and Bella was lying on Alice's chest, her arm around her waist. Bella was mesmerised by the lack of a heartbeat. Alice had such a big heart; she was so loving, kind and generous. To not feel anything beating there was weird. Bella was so tired but she didn't want to miss a moment of being with Alice.

"Go to sleep Bella. I won't leave I promise."

"mmkay" Bella sighed, succumbing to sleep.

Alice felt like she was in heaven. '_This is perfect. I never thought I could have anything like this. So far my visions have played out perfectly but…' _Alice closed her eyes as she recalled one of her visions

_**Alice**__** was running through the woods. She could hear the light footsteps of someone behind her. Whoever it was, was laughing. Alice came to a stream and stopped, waiting for whoever was behind her to catch up. She didn't have to wait long. Bella came to a stop next to Alice and took her hand. Alice gazed into her eyes, her perfect red eyes, and smiled. **_

Alice lay very still, deep in thought and not wanting to wake Bella. She had seen this vision play out a few times now, Bella as a vampire. Alice knew she wanted Bella for eternity but something like this had to be completely Bella's decision. Alice had no idea when, or even if this would actually happen but she was certain of one thing.

She wanted it more than anything.


	8. Chapter 8

_**Italics – dreams or visions**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or its fantastic characters. I've never owned it in the past and I will never own it in the future - Stephanie Meyer has this honour. I wish I did though as I wouldn't just stop writing Midnight Sun! And I'd change the pairing. I do own my mistakes though, and I'm sure there will be many ****J**

_Italics – for this chapter, italics will be Emmett's side of the phone call_

**On with the show…**

**Chapter Eight**

Another week had now passed since Bella's move to Forks. Another week since she met Alice Cullen. And almost two weeks without any more accidents, much to Bella's relief. Bella was also surprised that most people had figured out pretty quickly what was happening between her and Alice and no-one had been nasty. The two girls hadn't been keeping their relationship a secret but they were not exactly broadcasting it either. For a small town, Forks was surprisingly open-minded. Bella was almost ashamed at her prejudice, thinking everyone would be homophobic. Only Jessica kept complaining that "the weird ones" had "got her" but still, she was not nasty. Bella secretly thought Jessica was jealous but that thought would not go down well with the girl so she kept it to herself. It was almost as though no-one cared that Alice and Bella were together and for that Bella was very thankful. The last thing she wanted was trouble. Or more attention.

It was now Friday. Bella was currently clock watching, waiting for the bell to ring at the end of her last class. She was anxious for the day to end and was getting very fidgety in her seat.

Angela was sat next to Bella and finally she couldn't take the fidgeting any longer. She elbowed Bella in the ribs "Cut it out! You're making me seasick."

Bella grimaced "Sorry Ange, I just want this class to end!"

"Wanna see your girl huh?" Angela smiled warmly as Bella got a goofy look on her face "You're a very sweet couple. I'm glad you have someone like Alice. She's great."

"Yeah she is." Bella looked down at her desk. "I'll never understand why she's with me. All I know is I thank whatever or whoever is up there for putting her in my life."

"Sssh"

Angela and Bella looked up to see the teacher staring at them. They both whispered 'sorry' and while Angela carried on with her work, Bella was too distracted. Alice's new bed had been delivered that day and Bella laughed gently to herself as she recalled the phone call Alice had received at lunchtime and the intellectual conversation that followed.

**Earlier**

Bella was sitting at the 'Cullen Table' with Alice, Rosalie, Jasper and Edward. She was trying to eat her lunch but was very aware of Alice staring at her.

"Alice, stop watching me. It's very off-putting." Bella complained.

"I can't help it. I'm amazed at what you humans eat." Alice watched as Bella devoured her burger and fries.

Rosalie rolled her eyes and carried on flicking through her fashion magazine "It's just food Alice, nothing fascinating about it at all."

"It's alright for you Rose. You remember being human, I don't. I have no idea what food I liked. Some of it looks downright disgusting" Alice crinkled her nose as Bella dunked her fries in the ketchup. She was about to say something else but her cell started ringing, the sound of The Muppet Show theme ringing out in the lunchroom.

Bella and Edward sniggered "Nice ringtone Al." Edward teased.

Alice just poked her tongue out and answered the phone. "Hi Emmett. Has it arrived yet?"

"_Alice, what the hell kind of monster is this?"_ Emmett demanded. He had stayed home to wait for the delivery of the bed Alice had bought last weekend. His size meant he could easily fool the delivery people into believing he could carry it.

"Monster? What's wrong?" Alice asked.

"_Ali Baba, this bed is HUGE! What the hell do you need a bed this size for? You're smaller than an Oompa Loompa!"_

"I am not! Stop picking on my size. I can take you any day and you know it. Now just put the bed in my room and try not to break it. Bella and I are not exactly welcome at the bed store right now." she giggled.

"_Don't wanna know, not__ gonna ask."_ Emmett muttered.

Alice hung up the phone and looked around the table. "So. Make fun of my ring tone do you? I have a question. If you guys were a Muppet, which one would you be? I know Emmett would be Fozzie."

"Beaker." Bella replied, "He's shy and accident-prone."

"Kermit." was Edward's answer. "He's the guy in charge."

Jasper rolled his eyes at Edward's answer "I think I would be… Scooter. He gets things done. He's the soldier of the Muppets."

Rosalie snorted. "I'm not comparing myself to a Muppet. It's childish."

Everyone looked at each other and replied in unison "Miss Piggy."

**Present**

Bella's attention was caught by the final bell ringing. She ran outside as fast as she could and met Alice, who was waiting for her by her car. They met with a deep kiss, much to the amusement and delight of the other students.

"Woo hoo, go Bella." Tyler yelled out teasingly, his friends laughing along with him. Bella flipped a finger jokingly at them; Alice just looked smug and together they got in the car.

Bella looked around quickly "Where is everyone?"

"They all rode home with Edward. Without Emmett there's more room in the car." she smiled

Bella nodded, pleased to have some alone time with her girlfriend. "So. Sleepover at the Cullen's this weekend. Are you sure it's a good idea? Will the others will be ok?"

Alice rolled her eyes. Bella had been worrying incessantly about the weekend, ever since she had asked her to stay over. "Bella, for the last time, it is fine. Everyone will be hunting tonight before you come over. Esme is so excited; she can't wait to cook for you. And we can have a movie marathon and do a makeover."

Bella groaned. "Do we really have to?"

"YES. That's what sleepovers were invented for you know. And this is my first ever sleepover, I want to do things properly. I'm so excited."

Bella couldn't help but laugh, Alice's enthusiasm was catching. "OK, movies and makeovers it is then. Alice?" Bella's tone turned serious "Alice I want to tell Charlie about us. It's not fair to keep him in the dark, especially since people at school already know. I don't want him to hear it from someone else."

"When do you want to tell him?"

"Tonight, before you pick me up."

Alice pulled up outside Bella's house and remained silent. Bella realised she was having a vision and waited patiently. "OK, go ahead and tell him. It'll be alright, don't worry." Alice tapped her head and Bella felt immense relief. Once she had made the decision to tell Charlie, she had been feeling nervous about how it would turn out. She liked life in Forks more than she ever thought she would and hated thinking her lifestyle could force her to leave.

"Thanks Alice. Any chance you could tell me this weekend's lottery numbers while you're at it?"

Alice chuckled "No, I wish I could. Too random."

"Damn," Bella leaned over to kiss Alice goodbye "See you at seven."

"Mmm, seven," Alice moaned, running her hands through Bella's long hair. "Mmm, ok, no more kissing. You'll never get ready for this weekend if we don't stop. See you later Bella."

"Bye." Bella got out of the car and ran inside the house, looking back to see Alice peal down the road. '_How does she never get a ticket?' _"Dad? You home?" Bella shouted.

Charlie appeared from the kitchen with a beer. "Hey Bells, how was school?"

"School was school. Dad, can you sit down? I have something I need to tell you."

"Oh my god, you're pregnant. Who is it? I'll kill him!" Charlie's hand automatically rested on his holstered gun.

"Dad, calm down. I'm not pregnant! Give me some credit please!" '_If that's the worst thing he can think of then maybe Alice is right, this will be ok. What am I saying? If she said it would be fine then it will be fine.' _Bella sat down on the couch opposite her father and took a deep breath "Dad. I'm seeing someone from school. I never expected it to happen and to be honest it's happened pretty fast. But it feels so right and I am very, very happy."

"That's great Bells. Who is it? Do I know the guy?"

"Yeah you do know them but…" Bella took another breath and sat on her hands; they were shaking. "Dad it's not a guy." She watched Charlie as this news sank in. Charlie in the meantime sat stock still. Bella had to check his chest to make sure he was still breathing "Dad? Dad are you alright? Did you hear me?"

Charlie came back to life, looked at his daughter and smiled reassuringly "It's Alice isn't it?"

Bella's jaw hit the floor "How did you…?"

"Come on Bella, it's pretty obvious. And despite what you may think I am not totally clueless. You talk about her all the time and when you don't talk about her you're with her. I was wondering how long it would take for you to tell me." Charlie smiled, "At least you won't get pregnant."

"You mean… you don't hate me? You're not disgusted with me?"

Charlie moved over to the couch to sit next to his daughter. He held her trembling hands and spoke gently. "Bella listen to me. You are my only daughter and I love you more than life itself. Nothing you do could ever disgust me or make me hate you. Your happiness is all I care about. Alice makes you happy right?" Bella nodded silently "Then I am happy. As far as I am concerned I have gained another daughter." He paused, as if something had just occurred to him. "She does need some sun though, she's so pale."

Bella giggled '_That conversation is for another time.' _"Dad, thank you. I love you." Bella flung her arms around Charlie's neck and held on tight until Charlie started clearing his throat.

"OK. Um… I love you too Bells." he said, patting her back and gently removing her arms from his neck. He looked into her eyes "It's really ok sweetheart. If you have any problems from anyone you just tell me ok? I can start handing out speeding tickets."

"That won't be necessary Dad. People have been pretty good so far. Besides if anyone does give us grief, we can handle them. Alice is stronger than she looks. Are you still ok with me staying at the Cullen's this weekend?" Bella was worried that now that her Dad knew he would ban her from staying over.

"Sure, I trust you. You've always been old for your age. I assume the Cullen's know about you two? Bella nodded her head "Then its fine. It's not like you're staying alone with her."

'_I am so lucky to have Charlie as my dad. He's so cool. Just have to tell Renee now, but not just yet.' _"Thanks again Dad. I'm gonna go pack for the weekend, Alice will be here at seven." Bella turned to head upstairs and glanced back at Charlie who had turned the TV on to a baseball game. She smiled fondly at him and ran up the stairs, tripping on the top step. Bella felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders, she felt… free.

Bella had a little while to kill. She had a shower and decided to let her dry naturally. She started to pack her stuff for the weekend and was just finishing up when she heard the doorbell ring. She grabbed her bag and ran down the stairs, stumbling over on the bottom step.

"Jeez Bella, be more careful will ya?" Charlie said as he helped her up. "Alice, you're gonna need to be on your toes with this one. She can trip over thin air."

Alice laughed "Don't worry Chief Swan; she's in safe hands with me."

"Ok then, I'll leave you girls to it. Have a good weekend. And Alice? Call me Charlie." Charlie went back to the TV, leaving Alice and Bella alone in the hallway.

"I told you it would all be ok. He's so great Bella." Alice smiled.

"He really is. I'm so lucky. I have a fantastic dad and a fabulous girlfriend."

Alice smiled brightly and leaned in to kiss Bella. She almost made it.

"Huh hum"

Alice paused, just millimetres from Bella's lips and groaned. She looked in the direction of the sound which had been Charlie clearing his throat very loudly "Alice, I may be ok with the two of you but I'm still a dad. No PDA's in front of the parents please. I'd be the same with a guy."

Bella blushed violently and glared at her dad, while Alice smiled at Charlie "No worries Charlie, I'll be the perfect girlfriend. Come on Bella lets go."

Alice took Bella's hand and together they left for a weekend of movies and makeovers at the Cullen's.


	9. Chapter 9

_Italics – thoughts_

_**Italics – dreams or visions**_

**Disclaime****r: I don't own Twilight or its fantastic characters. I've never owned it in the past and I will never own it in the future - Stephanie Meyer has this honour. I do own my mistakes though, and I'm sure there will be many **

**AN: Sorry I wasn't as quick uploading this chapter. I had a busy weekend. I saw Hairspray in London on Saturday. Great show and great cast. Try and catch it while it's still there if you can. Also, I'm watching Grey's Anatomy while doing this – "You can't pray away the gay" – great line lol.**

**Anyway, ****I'm getting off track. You don't care about my weekend; you're here for Alice and Bella. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed. I'm so glad you are still with me on this. Keep reviewing, they really make my day. Big thanks to Ebony-Rosez for helping me out with this, you're a godsend :-)**

**Usual warning - this is a femslash story. Don't like? Don't read – Simples!**

**Chapter Nine**

The sleepover had arrived. Thanks to Alice's NASCAR driving, they arrived at the Cullen house within minutes. Bella felt a little alarmed when they pulled up outside the garage, only to see the whole family waiting for them outside the front door. "Alice. Why are they all waiting?"

"They're excited Bella. This is the first time anyone, let alone a human, has ever stayed over before."

"Wow, I'm honoured." Bella smiled. She undid her seatbelt, her lifeline when Alice drove. She went to let herself out the car but before she knew Alice had even moved, Alice was holding the door open for her. "Gonna take me a while to get used to that." Bella whispered. "You were right when you told Charlie you'd be the perfect girlfriend."

"I don't lie Bella." Alice replied, taking Bella's hand in hers and walking to the waiting Cullens.

"BELLA!" Emmett roared, picking her up off the ground and spinning around.

"Oh for… Emmett, do you think Bella's deaf? She's not so stop yelling at her." Alice scolded "And please stop flinging her in the air. She had a car accident recently remember?"

"Oops, I'm sorry Bella." Emmett had the sense to look sheepish "I'm just happy that you're here. I have someone else to tease now" he grinned. Before Bella could retort he spoke again. "Let me take your bag for you. I'll put it in yourroom. You know, the one with the bed resembling a small island." He laughed and rushed away before anyone could say anything back.

Rosalie just rolled her eyes "I apologise for my husband. I swear you'd think he was five years old sometimes. He's a perpetual child."

"It's ok Rosalie, I really don't mind. I'm just relieved he treats me normally you know?" Bella really was glad: she didn't want the Cullen's to act differently around her. Their home was the one place they could truly be themselves.

"Well good. I'm glad you're here Bella, really." Rosalie smiled and walked back into the house, settling down in front of what looked like an 80" TV.

Alice looked a little stunned and whispered quietly to her girlfriend. "That's really amazing Bella. For Rosalie to say that means she is accepting you. Don't blow it!" Alice teased.

"I'll try not to." She teased back.

As they walked into the house together Bella felt very touched. But, as usual, whenever she felt good, her insecurities started kicking in again. '_Why do these people like me so much? They've accepted me without question. They're immortal. Out of all the people in the entire world, why me?' _She was interrupted from her musings by Edward.

"Bella? I'm sorry. I know I said I would cease the mind-reading around you but you have to know. The reason we like you so much, the reason we have accepted you into our family, is because you make Alice incredibly happy. In turn, that makes us happy. She has been alone for a long, long time. You think you feel lucky to have us? We feel equally as lucky to have you." He frowned, reflecting on what he had just said. "And I am never this corny, I can assure you." He laughed.

Bella felt tears welling up in her eyes but blinked them back furiously. "Thank you Edward." She leaned in hesitantly, not sure if he would accept a hug from her. He did and she hugged him tightly. "But this doesn't mean you can use your mind-meld power thingy on me all the time." She teased the vampire.

"Bella, I'm a vampire, not a Vulcan." He laughed and let her go. Alice was stood over by Jasper, whispering too quietly and too fast for Bella to pick anything out. Jasper turned to Bella and smiled.

"Bella, welcome. I hope you have a very pleasant weekend here. Alice has certainly been looking forward to trying out the bed." He said, nudging Alice at the same time.

"JASPER!" Alice punched him with an indignant look on her perfect features "Bella, I really haven't, he's just teasing us."

Bella looked sad, forcing a tear to her eye. "So you don't want to try the bed out with me?" Alice looked totally stuck. She had not expected Bella to say that and didn't know what to say back. As Alice tried to think of a response, Bella smiled at her saying "Gotcha." She reached over to high five Jasper. As the two of them laughed together Alice just scowled. "Aw you look so cute when you scowl. C'mere." Bella pulled Alice to her kissing her gently. There was no interruption from anyone. No warnings against PDA's. Just total acceptance of a vampire and her human girlfriend. "So, I'm obviously sharing your room and the new bed with you. Are you going to be ok with that? We've had a close call already." She asked caringly.

Alice gazed into Bella's eyes, gripping her shirt slightly. "I will be alright. You can't have a sleepover and make the guest sleep in a separate room on their own. I always want to be with you Bella. Even if I can't quite 'be' with you yet. Besides, the bed is huge. We'll be fine."

Esme and Carlisle walked into the lounge. "Bella, I'm so pleased you're here. Tell me, do you like Indian food?" Esme asked.

"I do actually."

"Perfect. I've been trying out a recipe and I'm just dying to know what you think. Please come and eat."

"Wait a second; you really didn't have to cook for me. I know you guys don't eat."

"Nonsense Bella." Carlisle spoke up. "You are our guest and we never have a reason to cook or use the kitchen. Or food shop. That was… interesting." He and Esme laughed. Bella laughed along with them, getting an amusing visual of the Cullen family wandering the aisles of the local Walmart, confusedly trying to decide what to buy.

Bella's senses were hit with the sublime aroma emanating from the kitchen and her stomach growled very loudly, causing all the vampires to look at her. '_Oh no. Shut up stomach!' _

Alice giggled. "Come on. Eat up and then we can start the movies."

*********

Bella leaned back in her chair, groaning and rubbing her stomach. She had stuffed herself with lamb madras and rice, bombay potatoes, garlic naan bread and onion bhajees. She groaned again.

"Bella are you alright?" Esme looked concerned. "Did I do it wrong? Oh my goodness, I haven't poisoned you have I? "

"Esme, you killed me tonight but in a very, very good way. That meal was truly amazing."

Esme sighed in relief and beamed proudly. "Why thank you Bella. I'm so happy it turned out ok."

"Oh, it was more than ok, it was sublime. You should open an Indian restaurant."

"Yeah. Suck the meat dry and then serve it." Emmett laughed.

"Oh, that's just gross Emmett!" Alice threw a leftover onion bhajee at him, hitting him square in the face.

"Oh, that stinks." He moaned and ran to sit next to Rosalie on the couch.

"Come on Bella, it's time to start the movies." Alice helped Bella up and led her into the warm, inviting lounge.

"Hold on a second Al; I should help Esme clean up. She cooked."

"Bella I wouldn't dream of it. Carlisle will help me and then we are going out for a while: leave you kids alone." Esme smiled, dragging Carlisle into the kitchen.

"OK, movie it is. What are watching?"

"We're going to have a musical marathon. I love them." Alice started humming as she ran off upstairs to pick out some DVD's from her room.

"Musicals? Is she serious?" Bella asked no-one in particular. Emmett and Rosalie were snuggled together on one couch; Jasper and Edward were on the bean bags, leaving the larger couch for Bella and Alice.

"Deadly serious, she loves them. I normally leave when she watches them but I'm staying tonight in honour of you Bella." Emmett spoke up.

Rosalie hit him round the head "Oh please, you love them as much as Alice does. I caught you watching High School Musical for god's sake!"

"ROSE!" He rubbed his head where she had hit him "Bella she's kidding, don't listen to her."

Bella laughed along with Edward, Rosalie and Jasper and caught Jasper mouthing to her "She's not kidding."

Emmett glared at them "Quit it. Honestly, I'm an action guy myself. Give me Die Hard any day."

"OK Emmett, I believe you." Bella placated the huge vampire.

With perfect timing Alice practically danced back into the room, with a stack of DVD's in her hands. "OK, ready to start?"

Edward jumped up to put a DVD in the player while Alice and Bella settled together on the couch. They sat side by side as Edward dimmed the lights and the movie started up on the 80" High Definition TV. The movie marathon had begun.

**About Twelve hours later**

"No day but todaaaaaaaaaaay" The last line of Rent sung out. The marathon had consisted of six musicals: Mamma Mia, Dreamgirls, Little Shop Of Horrors, Hairspray, Oklahoma and Rent.

It was now early on Saturday morning. During the night Bella had ended up lying across the couch with her head in Alice's lap, sighing peacefully as Alice played with her hair. She had no idea how she had managed to stay awake all night. "Those films were actually pretty good Alice." Bella admitted. "I've never seen a musical before, not what I was expecting at all."

"Who knew that Wolverine dude could sing?" Emmett wondered.

"Hmm, he can sing to me any day." Rosalie whispered, laughing at Emmett as he looked crushed. "Aw don't worry baby, you're my Wolverine." She kissed him passionately and straddled his lap.

"Oh please Rose, not this early." Edward pleaded. Rose just flipped him the finger as she and Emmett ran upstairs. "Well they're gone for the day," Edward muttered. "It's Saturday and I'm going out. I'm sure you two would like some alone time." He smiled at Alice and Bella as he left. The two girls had still not moved from their positions on the couch.

"Bella, you must be exhausted." Alice had concern in her voice, worrying that her human girlfriend needed some sleep.

"I should be but I'm not, honestly. Maybe vampire life suits me." Bella joked. Alice stiffened slightly as the vision of Bella as a vampire flashed through her mind. Suddenly Bella's stomach growled loudly, making Emmett laugh, even though he was all the way upstairs.

"Alice, feed your human!" he yelled, followed by an "Ow, dammit Rose" as Rosalie obviously hit him.

"Come on Bella; let's get some breakfast in you before we start the makeover." Alice smiled evilly.

"Damn, I was hoping you'd forgotten about that part." Bella laughed as Alice dragged her into the kitchen. They stopped in front of a huge cupboard. When Alice opened it Bella's eyes widened. "Jesus Alice, how much cereal do vampires need?" The cupboard had what looked like every cereal known to the USA inside.

"Don't laugh, but when we were in the store we had no idea what to get. Honestly Bella how do you humans ever get any shopping done? There are too many choices!"

"Who knew? There's something I can teach a vampire: food shopping. You have choice as well right? O Pos, A Neg and so on. Hold on, do animals have blood types?" Bella laughed, so did Alice. "Honestly Alice, your family really didn't have to go through all this trouble just for me."

"Bella, for you, nothing is too much trouble." Alice leaned in and kissed Bella softly. It would have lasted longer if it weren't for the insistent rumbling of Bella's stomach. Alice pulled back "Ok, really, you need to eat."

Bella ate her cereal quietly, while Alice watched with complete fascination as the Rice Krispies snapped, crackled, and popped. When Bella was done she washed her bowl up and leaned against the kitchen unit with her arms crossed. "Right: ground rules. I will submit to a makeover BUT…" Bella held her finger up on the 'but' as Alice was about to interrupt. "There will be no dresses, no heels and under no circumstances, the colour pink. Do we have a deal?"

"But you'll look so pretty in a… ok fine. If that's the only way you'll let me have my way with you then I agree to your rules."

Bella blushed at the "have my way with you" line as her mind immediately dropped into the gutter. She cleared her throat and shook her head. "OK. Then let the torture begin."

They headed up into Alice's room. Bella insisted on a quick shower first after being up all night. When she was done she put her clothes back on and took her place at Alice's dresser. Alice started on her hair first, drying it and then curling it. Make-up was next. She refused to let Bella look into a mirror; she wanted it to be a surprise when she was done. Bella took the opportunity to get to know Alice some more. "How old are you Alice?"

"In human years I am eighteen years old. Vampire years, I'm not fully sure. Over a hundred though."

"Wow. Do you ever meet other vampires? Hang out?"

"Not really. We come across others from time to time but they never stay long. We don't allow them to hunt humans within a hundred mile radius of Forks. The vegetarian lifestyle is not for everyone. We are unique in that respect. We are very much a family, not a coven. Some vampires just can't deal with that. Hold still a second."

Bella held still as Alice applied some make-up to her eyes. Alice giggled "Why do humans hold their mouth open when applying mascara? It's so weird."

Bella laughed at the random question "I have no idea, we just do. One of the quirks of being a human girl I guess."

"Ok, you can move now. Hair and make-up are done. Now for the clothes."

Alice disappeared into her huge closet, which was twice the size of Bella's bedroom. While she was in there Bella asked about the other Cullen's. Alice answered from inside the closet.

"Edward was turned when he was seventeen. He was dying from Spanish Flu and Carlisle was alone. He was the first human he ever turned; it killed him to do it. Jasper was turned during the Civil War, he was nineteen. Emmett was twenty. He was mauled by a bear and Rose found him. She brought him to Carlisle and ever since his change he and Rose have been together. Rosalie and Esme, their stories aren't mine to tell. I'm sure they'll tell you one day." Alice came back out with a black slim-fit trouser set, with a low cut white sleeveless top. "Here, put this on and I'll find some shoes."

Bella did as she was told. She knew by now that arguing with Alice when it came to clothes was completely pointless. She took her top and jeans off, standing only in her underwear. Alice chose that precise moment to come out of the closet, freezing in place. '_My god, she is stunning.' _Alice could feel the arousal well up within her and she threw herself at Bella. She planted kisses all over Bella's face, gradually moving down her neck. She paused at Bella's pulse point. '_Oh my god. She smells delicious; she must taste exquisite'. _She growled and made her way down to Bella's chest. When she felt the venom dripping in her mouth she somehow managed to stop herself. '_No, not yet. I need to hunt more for this.' _Alice stopped what she was doing and looked at Bella. Bella was barely standing. Her eyes were closed and her face flushed. Alice could smell Bella's arousal and felt guilty for stopping. She had done this to the poor girl twice now. "Bella please open your eyes."

Bella opened her eyes slowly. "Oh Alice, not again. Why did you stop?" she whispered.

"Bella, I'm not quite ready for this yet. I've never slept with a human before. I need to hunt more. I have to be so careful with you; I don't want to hurt you. I'm so, so sorry. Are you mad at me?"

"Yes." Bella complained, her arms crossed. She looked away as Alice pouted; she couldn't resist the pout. She snuck a glance at Alice out the side of her eyes and gave up. "Ok, no, I'm not mad. How can I be mad at you?" Bella became serious for a moment "Alice I do want this though. I want to be with you completely. I understand it's hard for you but I'm ready. You can't hurt me. I'm your mate remember? I love you."

"Oh Bella, I want to be with you too, so much it hurts. I will be ready very soon I promise. And I love you too. In the meantime, please put the outfit on. I've seen you in it already but I want to see it for real."

Bella kissed Alice on the nose and looked at the outfit. "OH MY GOD! Alice… this is Calvin Klein!" Something caught Bella's eye and she checked a label hanging off the collar. "You left the tag on. Please tell me this is an error. The decimal point is in the wrong place right?"

Alice shook her head no, clearly amused at Bella's theatrics.

"I can't wear this!" Bella thrust her hand out, passing the suit back to Alice.

Alice refused to take it. "Bella. Its last seasons fashion and I won't wear it again. I left the tag on so I could take it back but it turned out to be perfect for you. Trust me." She smiled and winked.

Bella grudgingly put the suit on, trying in her clumsy way to avoid ruining her hair and make-up. When she was done Alice finally allowed her to look into a mirror. Bella was stunned "Is that me?" Her hair had been curled and was flowing around her shoulders and down her back; her make up was natural but brought out all the features of her face, the mascara and eyeliner highlighting Bella's beautiful eyes. "I have cheekbones." Lastly Bella looked at the outfit, it was totally her. "Alice, I love it, really. You are an evil genius." Bella threw her arms around Alice and hugged her.

Rosalie chose that moment to enter Alice's room. Both girls turned towards her. "Bella you look… good." Rosalie admitted grudgingly. "That outfit is way too good to waste. Do you fancy hitting a club tonight?"

"Yay, clubbing! Bella we HAVE to go. Rosie's right, the makeover cannot go to waste. We'll go the club in Port Angeles?" she asked Rosalie.

"Sure, it's a decent club. I'll let Emmett and Jasper know and tell Edward when he comes back. We'll go after dark."

Bella had remained quiet during this exchange but decided to speak up. She tapped her girlfriend on the shoulder. "Um Alice? I really don't think this is a good idea. Hello, you're taking the girl who trips over nothing clubbing? I can barely walk let alone dance!"

Alice held her arms around Bella's waist and whispered quietly "Don't worry, the dancing I have in mind will hold you up. I'll never let you go." Bella just nodded her head; the images in her brain had rendered her speechless. Alice giggled "You really do look stunning Bella. The people in the club will fall in love with you instantly. But you're mine." Alice nibbled Bella's earlobe gently and pulled away. Bella was now motionless and mute.

"Alice? I think you broke her." Rosalie waved her hand in front of Bella's face. "BELLA? You in there?" Bella collapsed on the edge of the bed and blushed "And she's back." Rosalie laughed. "We are going to have fun."

**AN2: The lemon is coming. I apologise for the teasing but it's definitely coming. The end is also in sight, I think it will be 16 chapters total. I have an idea for a sequel but ****that will depend on whether people want it or not. Thanks for reading.**


	10. Chapter 10

_Italics – thoughts_

_**Italics – dreams or visions**_

**Disclaime****r: I don't own Twilight or its fantastic characters. I've never owned it in the past and I will never own it in the future - Stephanie Meyer has this honour. I do own my mistakes though, and I'm sure there will be many **

**AN: Glad people are still with me. Your reviews make my day. We are nearly at the end now but a sequel is in my head – just need to get it out!**

**Big thank you to Ebony-Rosez for all your help – you rock :-)**

**Usual warning - this is a femslash story. Don't like? Don't read – Simples!**

**Chapter ****Ten**

The Cullen family were walking into Heaven, the nightclub that is. They were walking side by side, almost in slow motion. The people around them could not tear their eyes away; it was like watching a pop video in action. They were devastatingly beautiful. Despite her makeover and the approving glances she was receiving, Bella felt completely inadequate walking alongside the family. She tugged nervously at her very expensive outfit. Alice must have realised what Bella was thinking as she turned around to scold her.

"Bella stop it. You look absolutely drop-dead gorgeous. All the boys, and quite a few girls I might add, are drooling over you already." It was then Bella noticed the glances that had been heading in her direction. Alice scowled. "I'd better let them know you're taken." She took Bella's face into her hands, rubbing her thumb across Bella's cheeks lovingly. She drew her in for a deep, passionate, lustful, and drawn out kiss. Bella could vaguely hear whistling and various "whoops" around her but she didn't care. She could lose herself in Alice's kisses forever. As Alice pulled away she smiled and led Bella on to the dance floor. The rest of the family was already dancing or sitting in a booth, pretending to drink.

The music was pounding, the bass turned up to full. Alice and Bella were in the centre of the dance floor, swaying slightly. Bella felt incredibly self-conscious at first, but as the music took over, she let everyone in the club drift away. It was just Bella and her soul mate, no one else existed. They danced slowly at first. Alice was true to her word, she never let Bella go. As the music got faster, they started moving in time to it. They were grinding against each other, losing themselves in the rhythm. Their dancing was getting more and more risqué, but they didn't care. Unfortunately neither did the other clubbers and Edward was getting angry at the thoughts he was hearing about his sister and her mate. Finally he could no longer take it. He fought his way through the clubbers and made his way over to the two girls and whispered to Alice, there was no way Bella would hear.

"Al, please tone it down a little. I'm about to punch some of these guys out. Their thoughts are disgusting."

Alice understood: she knew they had got carried away and were attracting some unwanted attention from some rough looking guys. She pulled Bella close so she could shout in her ear. "Bella, we need to lighten up a little. We're getting some unwelcome attention. I don't want to give them a free show with my girlfriend."

Bella looked around and saw that they had indeed attracted a lot of attention. She glanced at the Cullen's. Edward and Jasper looked angry and Emmett had his fists clenched. "You're right. But your brothers need to calm down."

"They won't do anything, don't worry. We'll just keep it fun." And keep it fun they did. Their dancing became lighter, less seductive. Rosalie also got up and joined them; shooting death glares at the few guys who continued to watch them. As people lost interest in the girls, the guys relaxed and started to have fun again.

Four hours later, Bella was worn out. They were all seated in the large private booth, slightly hidden from the dance floor, and having a good time. Bella couldn't believe she was having so much fun with the vampires and not causing any discomfort to any of them. The dancing had worn her out and the movie marathon from the night before was starting to catch up with her. She was sat next to Alice, resting her head on the girl's shoulder and her hand rubbing gently up and down Alice's thigh.

Suddenly Alice stiffened. She had been hit with a vision and at the same time Edward had shot out of his seat, looking around the club. Alice came out of her vision and stared at Edward. She said just one word. "Yes."

That was all Edward needed to hear and before Bella knew what was happening she was outside being bundled into one of the Cullen cars. No one in the club would have even noticed them leave; it all happened so fast. After a minute of stony silence in the car, Bella spoke up.

"Alice what the hell is going on?" Bella was very confused. One minute they were all having a great time, the next Alice had a vision, Edward was acting like the world was coming to an end, and she had been bundled into the car without a word being spoken.

"Bella, I'm sorry. We had to leave straight away; it wasn't safe anymore. Edward picked up a scent at the club at the same time I got a vision. My vision confirmed his suspicions and we had to leave."

"Edward? Who was it?" Bella asked. Rosalie and Emmett had sped off in their car with Jasper and were bound to be home by now. Edward was currently driving at 150mph; his hands gripping the wheel as though he were strangling it. The tension was coming off him in waves and his eyes were black with fury. For the first time Bella could see why she was supposed to be scared of vampires.

Edward stared straight ahead and spoke a single word "Victoria."

Bella remained silent. She wasn't sure she could ask who Victoria was without causing a car accident and she had already had one this year. Luckily Alice spoke up quietly. "We'll explain when we get home, I promise."

An hour's drive from Port Angeles was done in less than 10 minutes. Alice, Bella and Edward ran into the Cullen house where Rosalie, Emmet, Jasper, Carlisle and Esme were waiting. The others had obviously already told Carlisle and Esme what was going on.

"Edward, Alice, Bella are you all ok?" Carlisle asked. His voice was laced with concern for his children.

"We're fine. We got out of the club and back here before anything could happen." Edward spoke. "Alice, what is she doing back here? Is she crazy?"

"I don't know. My vision only showed me what would happen if we had stayed in the club. I don't know why she's back. I've tried to focus on her but she is not making any decisions. She knows how to get around my ability."

"Alice, what would have happened?" Bella asked.

"It doesn't matter now; we left before anything could happen so the future has changed."

"Is anyone going to tell me who Victoria is?" Bella wanted to know. This woman was obviously a problem for the family she had grown to love. They were all sat down around the large dining room table where Bella had enjoyed her meal only one night before. It was a very different atmosphere around the table now. Everyone looked at Edward and Alice; it was their story to tell.

"You tell it Edward. She needs to know." Alice held Bella's hand and they all waited for Edward to start.

"Ok. Two years ago some nomads showed up in Forks. It was just after we had moved back here. There were only three of them and they seemed happy to abide with our 'no hunting humans within a hundred miles' rule. One in the coven, a vampire by the name of James, decided to break the rules. One night he killed three people in town and Alice and I were the one's to confront him. We caught him feeding on a girl. We did our best to save her but it was too late for her. We fought with him but he was strong."

Edward looked at Alice, unsure if he should tell the full story. He read her thoughts and Alice nodded her head, encouraging him to continue.

"He was one of the strongest vampires I have ever come across. For some reason he fixated on Alice. He just went for her. He bit her and managed to succeed in almost pulling her arm off. He beat on her pretty badly. I thought we were going to lose her."

Bella gasped at this and her eyes filled with tears. She clung to Alice tightly, unable to bear the thought of someone hurting her.

"Then he made a mistake. He was too focused on Alice and it gave me an opportunity to overpower him and rip his head off. Once I did that, it was easy to tear him apart. You see Bella, to kill a vampire you pull them to pieces and then burn the remains. We can heal quickly but Alice was in no condition to fight. While I was burning the remains, Victoria and Laurent showed up. It turned out that James was her mate and she was completely enraged. Alice is your soul mate; try and imagine how it would feel to lose her and multiply that feeling by a hundred. That's how it feels for vampires. Or so I've been told."

Bella nodded and shuddered; she felt nauseous but managed to fight it.

"We ran the nomads out of town, and told them in no uncertain terms that they were never to return to Forks. They almost exposed us and that is taboo for a vampire. When we were in the club I picked up Victoria's scent and some thoughts. She was definitely there. She would have seen you and Alice dancing and I'm worried that she has come back for revenge. A mate for a mate."

Bella looked worriedly at Alice. "Is she? Back for revenge? To kill you or me?" She was crying freely now. She was terrified but not for her own life, for Alice. She hadn't known vampires could be killed. Losing Alice had now become a harsh reality and Bella didn't think she could handle it.

Alice wiped away Bella's tears. "I don't know sweetie. She won't make a decision. She deliberately acts on instinct to throw me off. But I can assure you; I will not let anything happen to you. One of us will always be with you." Alice glanced at her family who were all nodding their heads.

"Hell yeah little sis. If that bitch wants a smack down, she's got one." Emmett roared, punching his fist into his hand fiercely.

The loud noise that resulted from that action made Bella jump. She stared at the giant vampire; suddenly she started laughing and couldn't stop. The tension was escaping her body the only way it knew how right now, by laughing. "I'm sorry, it's the adrenaline. I don't mean to laugh, this isn't funny at all. But please, don't worry about me. I am best friends with the safest family in America. Even the President's protection has nothing on you guys! How many people can say they have seven vampires as their personal bodyguards? Besides," Bella turned back to Alice, "with your visions I'm sure you will see something just in time or Edward will hear something. You did tonight. I feel completely safe." Bella kissed Alice and hugged her, trying her best to reassure the worried vampire.

Alice kissed back gently then pulled away "This has been the best and worst sleepover of all time. So not how I thought it would end up." She laughed "Well, we still have one more night. Not quite what I had planned but... more movies everyone?"

The Cullen family settled down for another movie marathon and Bella prepared for her second night dozing on Alice's lap. The adrenaline rush from the scare at the nightclub and the story that followed it had woken her up, and for now she was fully alert. Besides, after hearing that a crazed vampire could be out to kill her, going two nights without sleeping certainly wouldn't.

The atmosphere in the house was still fun; they had decided on action movies for the evening. They were all doing their best to keep things light. But there was an underlying tension in the room that everyone was aware of. Bella could see that Edward was not quite as engrossed in the movies as he had been the previous night, and Alice kept going rigid. Bella knew she was trying to see Victoria and get an idea of what she was up to. But Bella also knew, without a doubt, that she felt safe with the Cullen's. If an enraged vampire was determined to get her, or Alice, Bella felt confident they could beat her. It was seven against one after all. Bella just wondered what would happen.

What was Victoria going to do?


	11. Chapter 11

_Italics – thoughts_

_**Italics – dreams or visions**_

**Disclaime****r: I don't own Twilight or its fantastic characters. I've never owned it in the past and I will never own it in the future - Stephanie Meyer has this honour. I do own my mistakes though, and I'm sure there will be many **

**AN: Well, here it is. After making you wait, this chapter contains "the lemon". It's taken me a long time to work on it but I'm happier with it than I was so I thought I'd post it before you guys started lynching me. Big thanks to my beta for all her help. Please be gentle in the reviews if it really sucks **

**Usual warning - t****his is a femslash story. Don't like? Don't read – Simples**

**Chapter ****Eleven**

It had been a month since that night in Heaven, the night Victoria had presumably returned to Forks. Life had continued on as normal for Bella. Well, as normal as a life with vampires could be. Her relationship with Alice was growing stronger with every day that passed and incredibly, Bella's dress sense was improving. Only last week she had worn an outfit to school, not one that Alice had chosen, and Alice approved. So did the rest of the student body. Bella had earned appreciative glances from Mike and Eric and quite a few other guys. Bella laughed as she remembered how Alice would growl at them, sending them running.

It was Friday afternoon. School had ended and Bella was getting ready to go and visit Alice at her house. She hadn't seen her vampire girlfriend all day because, for once, the sun had decided to shine in Forks, forcing the Cullen's to stay home. Bella was looking forward to being with Alice alone. She had enjoyed the movie nights, but really, there were only so many movie nights a girl can have. Bella was also a little nervous; she was thinking, hoping, that they might finally take their relationship further. They had continued to engage in hugely enjoyable kissing sessions and had started to progress a little further. But Alice was still so worried about hurting Bella, she held back. Also, with Victoria out there somewhere, Bella was aware that Alice didn't want to focus solely on her in case she missed a vision, or got a vision too late.

Bella heard a car pull up outside the house. She looked out of her window and waved down. It was Jasper, dead on 4:30pm. He had agreed to pick her up so Alice could hunt before she got there. Bella ran outside to the car. "Hey Jasper, thanks for picking me up."

"No problem Bella. Buckle up now." He smiled. Bella was now used to her vampire family but their driving still terrified the hell out of her. It was a source of constant amusement to them all, Emmett especially.

Bella did as he asked and sighed deeply. She laid her head back on the head rest and closed her eyes. She couldn't help worrying about Alice hunting alone, with Victoria possibly out there somewhere, watching her. Not seeing Alice all day had done nothing for Bella's anxiety. Her stomach churned, she couldn't wait to see her vampire. Suddenly Bella felt a wave of immense calm wash over her, her stomach eased of its churning. She turned to Jasper and smiled gratefully. "Thank you Jasper. Can you imagine the fortune you'd make if you could bottle and market your power?" She smiled, looking over at the handsome vampire.

Jasper laughed. "Just imagine huh? And you're welcome. You need to calm down Bella, we have everything under control. Edward has not picked up any thoughts; Alice has seen nothing in her visions. We've not picked up her scent either. All the evidence suggests Victoria has left the area. We think she was only passing through on her way to Seattle. I don't think she would be stupid enough to take us all on."

Bella nodded her head, but she couldn't quite bring herself to agree with Jasper. After hearing of the history between Victoria and the Cullen's, Bella truly believed that Victoria was after revenge. She had tried to imagine what it would be like to lose Alice and every time the thought entered her head she couldn't breathe. It was like cutting off her oxygen and expecting her to carry on breathing. Life without Alice was simply unimaginable and Bella could only assume Victoria felt the same about losing James.

Jasper pulled the car into the garage and as soon as Bella stepped out she was engulfed in a cold, but affectionate hug. She fell backwards into the car, narrowly avoiding the gear stick as Alice lay on top of her. "Oh Bella, I missed you today. Damn sun!"

Bella laughed, wrapping her arms around her girlfriend. "I missed you too you crazy smurf. School was so boring without you there. I gotta move, the handbrake is poking me."

Alice helped Bella out the car "Come on in. We can have a quiet night together; most of the others are out. Just me, you and Jasper for now."

"Mmm, sounds like a threesome." Bella joked.

Alice spluttered. Lately Bella had become more outgoing in her comments and blushing a lot less. Hanging out with vampires with a threat of death over her head was obviously doing wonders for the girl's confidence. But she liked this side of Bella. "Bella Swan, get your mind out of the gutter. There will be no threesome-having I'll have you know. You are mine and mine alone." Alice kissed Bella and they both made their way into the kitchen. Alice opened a cupboard door. "Do you want a drink? We have Coke, Pepsi, Cherry Coke, Dr Pepper, Mountain Dew, Fanta Orange, Vanilla Coke and Budweiser."

Bella groaned at the array of brightly coloured cans that filled the cupboard. "Alice! You should have said you needed to do a food shop; I would have come with you. Again, you have way too much. And Budweiser? Are you trying to corrupt me and get me drunk?" she asked with a smirk on her face, wrapping her arms around Alice's petite waist.

"Mmm tempting. It just seemed like something we should have. It's an American pastime you know. Like baseball. Or Monday Night Football."

"You've been watching too much sport. Charlie would love it. Come round and watch a game with him. Bring the Bud and he'll practically beg you to move in." Bella laughed.

"I might just do that. In the meantime…" Alice grabbed a Coke and gave it to Bella, "…let's go to my room." She wiggled her eyebrows and the girls headed upstairs.

Bella was the first to enter Alice's bedroom and she gasped in surprise. "Well, this is… different."

Alice had decorated her room since the last time Bella had been inside. There were curtains covering the large windows. The dim glow of candles illuminated the room warmly. Bella could smell the soothing scent of Vanilla and Camomile from the incense sticks placed around the room. And as for the bed, it was covered with petals.

"Alice, this is… beautiful." Bella felt very nervous. For a reason unknown to even her, Bella decided to open her Coke at that very moment. The gas caused the drink to spurt out '_When did I even shake it?' _"Oh, I'm sorry."

"Ignore the Coke Bella." Alice's voice was low and very sexy. She took the Coke out of Bella's hands and placed it on the dresser. She then took the girl's trembling hands and led her slowly to the giant bed. They sat down, close together, and Bella gulped nervously. The tension between the two girls was palpable. Bella watched as Alice's eyes grew dark with lust.

"Alice?" Bella saw Alice leaning in closer and, after what seemed like an eternity, their lips met. It was tender at first but passion soon took over and the kiss grew heated. Bella waited for Alice to pull back, as she always did, but the moment didn't come. Alice's ice cold hands lifted Bella's shirt slightly and gently stroked the hot skin beneath. Bella shuddered, it felt so good. _'Is this finally going to happen? Are we really going to do this?'_ Alice gently pushed Bella back so she was lying on the bed, with Alice straddling her. She moved from Bella's lips, gently kissing and sucking the pulse point in her neck. Bella held her breath, waiting to see if the monster would take over, but it didn't. "Alice?" Alice stopped and looked at Bella, surprised that she had stopped her. "Um... I've never done this before. I don't know what to…"

"Ssh, it's ok. We'll learn together. God, I love you so much Bella Swan." The vampire resumed her position at Bella's neck and slowly started to move further down. She stopped and Bella moaned at the loss of contact. "Bella are you particularly attached to this shirt?"

"Huh?" Bella's brain would not work properly "Uh, no. Why?"

In one fast movement, Alice ripped the shirt off Bella's body, the buttons scattering all around the bedroom. "Bella you are truly stunning." Alice admired Bella's creamy white, perfect body. She ran her hands down Bella's chest and then gently across her stomach, causing it to tremble. She eagerly and quickly resumed her kissing pattern, starting on Bella's collar bone and moving slowly down. At the same time, Alice expertly removed Bella's bra and threw it somewhere in the room. Bella's breath hitched as she felt Alice gently suck on one breast, while her hand massaged her other breast.

"Ohmygodohmygod," Bella moaned "Alice you'd better not stop this time, not now."

Alice looked up into Bella's eyes. "I have no intention of stopping; I am so ready for this. Are you sure you are?"

"Alice shut the hell up and kiss me." Bella grabbed Alice's head and pulled her up for a passionate, fiery kiss. She loved running her hands through Alice's short, spiky hair but she soon pulled back. "You're wearing too many clothes." Bella growled. Alice quickly removed her clothes, much faster than Bella ever could, and then removed Bella's and laid back on top of her. She wanted to give Bella what they had been craving ever since they met.

Bella hissed as she felt Alice's cool, hard body lay on top of hers. They fit together perfectly. Bella loved the sensation of cold and heat merging together; she couldn't get enough of it. '_Alice was right, I was born to be with her.' _Bella gently started to massage Alice's pert breasts, just as Alice had done to her, as the two of them kissed and took in the sensations of their bodies together for the first time. Alice groaned and Bella melted at the sound. She felt Alice slip her thigh between her legs as Bella wrapped her leg around Alice. They were both starting to grind against each other, both desperate for more contact.

Alice started to make her way down Bella's body again, she could feel the heat radiating off Bella and her arousal was filling the room with her sweet scent. After teasing Bella for an agonising time, Alice could wait no longer. She ran her icy fingers along Bella's slit, feeling how wet she was.

"Oh my. Bella, is that for me?" Alice didn't expect an answer; Bella was too far gone at this point. "Let me help you out there sweetie." Alice finally gave Bella what she needed; she ran her tongue slowly up Bella's entrance, until she reached the swollen bundle of nerves. She gently sucked on her clit, causing Bella's hips to rise off the bed.

"Sweet Jesus. Alice!"

Alice held Bella by the hips as hard as she could without hurting the girl, to keep her still while she continued to drive Bella crazy with desire. After bringing Bella to the point of release she drew back wickedly.

Bella whimpered. "Alice!"

Alice crawled back up Bella's gorgeous body and as she did, she slowly entered a finger into Bella's warmth. She paused, giving Bella time to get used to the feeling, knowing it would be hurting the girl. She felt Bella's muscles tighten around her finger and waited. As she felt her relax, Alice curled her finger slightly, hitting the spot. Bella screamed at the overwhelming, pleasurable sensation that coursed through her sensitive body. Her hips rose off the bed again and she bucked hard. If it weren't for vampire strength, Alice would be across the room by now!

"Oh my god, Alice… please… I need…"

"What? What do you need Bella? Tell me."

"More. I need more."

"Anything you want." Never one to deny Bella anything, Alice gently slid another two fingers inside the girl, pumping slowly at first as Bella got used to the sensation and then harder. Bella was moaning loudly, the sound was music to Alice's ears. Bella was close. Alice moved further up Bella's body, never ceasing her movements. Her thumb circled Bella's clit, at the same time continuing her rhythmic pumping. Bella screamed but Alice silenced her with a kiss. Finally Bella came, her release causing her to cry out into Alice's mouth. Alice continued to kiss her lover passionately as Bella rode out her release, coming back down to earth slowly. The scent in the room was tantalising to the vampire. Alice removed her fingers as Bella got her senses back.

Her body had a sheen of sweat and she was glowing. "Oh my… Alice that was amazing." Bella panted. "That was so much more than I imagined it would be. You were perfect."

Alice giggled. "I'm glad I met your approval" she whispered.

Bella rolled onto her side and stared at Alice, running her hands up and down the vampire's body. Bella quickly moved on top of her, noticing once again just how perfectly they fit together, like a completed puzzle.

"Now let me return the favour." Bella grinned.


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaime****r: I don't own Twilight or its fantastic characters. I've never owned it in the past and I will never own it in the future - Stephanie Meyer has this honour. I do own my mistakes though, and I'm sure there will be many **

**AN: I've uploaded two chapters tonight. Go back to Chapter Eleven ****before reading this one to make sure you are caught up. Sorry for the delay in updating, been very busy. And I'm knackered!**

**Usual warning - t****his is a femslash story. Don't like? Don't read – Simples**

**Chapter ****Twelve**

It was late at night and Bella and Alice were lying in the huge, comfortable bed, both completely satiated with their love making. They had made love for hours, exploring each other's bodies for the first, second, third, who knows how many times, and bringing each other to release multiple times. Alice was now lying on her side. Her head lay on Bella's chest, listening to the soothing sound of Bella's heart beating. Bella's arms were wrapped tightly around her girlfriend, finally now her lover and their legs were tangled up together.

Bella's fingers ran lightly through Alice's short, spiky hair, she was deep in thought. _'Did this really happen? Am I dreaming? I really hope not because oh my god, that was amazing! Alice is… perfect. The things she did to me… indescribable. I hope I was ok. It sounded like I was. I could do this with her forever. But I can't.' _Bella frowned slightly. She'd had something on her mind for quite a while now and wasn't sure if she should bring it up _'I'm going to get old and wrinkly and she'll be Alice for eternity. I think… No, I know, that I want to be like her. Should I ask her? No, not now. This is so nice, she's so comfortable.' _Bella sighed happily.

Alice was the first to break the comfortable silence. "What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking that being a vampire certainly has its perks. I'm completely exhausted, I have bad bed hair and you look as perfect as ever!"

Alice laughed and looked up, resting her chin on Bella's chest. "I can certainly give the Energizer Bunny a run for its money. And you have never looked more beautiful. But you were miles away just now. What were you really thinking?" she asked, placing a soft kiss on Bella's lips.

Bella furrowed her brow. "I can't keep anything from you can I? I was wondering if I was… ok at this and…" she trailed off.

"Oh sweetie, you were more than ok. You made me feel so good. No-one has ever made me feel like that. If I were human I'd be exhausted." Alice reassured her girlfriend. She studied her face intently. "Is that really it?" She knew what was coming but she didn't want to push Bella.

'_Is now the right time? Will there ever be a right time__ to talk about this?' _Bella decided to bite the bullet. "Alice, I need to ask you something. Something serious."

Alice sighed. Her visions about Victoria had been useless so far but this one was rock solid. Bella wanted to be turned. She had seen Bella as a vampire; it was the one constant ever since she had met the girl. "I know what you're going to ask Bella. Um… believe me when I say I want to. Oh god, do I want to. Bella, turning someone takes a tremendous amount of control, far more than I needed for this incredible sex session." She grinned but turned serious. "Just a taste of your blood could engulf me, let the monster overcome me. If I take too much blood, if I can't stop, I would kill you."

"Alice I trust you, more than anyone else in my life. I know you can do it. The others would be here, to step in if you need them to. Alice please, I want to be with you for eternity. My life would be nothing without you."

"But you'd be dead Bella. Edward thinks that we no longer have our souls. I don't think I can believe that. How could I love you like I do if I were soulless? But he believes it. What if it's true? How can I condemn you to that? I love you as you are: the clumsiness, the blushing, and your beating heart."

"Alice, if we start a theological debate about the existence of souls we'd go crazy. I'm human. I believe there is something that makes us who we are. You are not human, but I can't say you're dead either. Whatever you had as a human, whoever you were, is still who you are now, just enhanced. You are the most compassionate, loving, sweetest person I know. I need… no, I WANT to be with you, as your equal."

"Me too Bella, me too," Alice kissed Bella passionately, letting her love take over. After a few minutes they pulled apart and Alice spoke again, so quietly Bella had to strain to hear her "OK, I'll do it. But on one condition: wait until you turn eighteen."

"Oh, Alice, why? That's six months away!"

"Bella, think this through. You would be a legal adult; you wouldn't have to explain why you were living with me, away from Charlie. You could graduate high school and get a real diploma. We could go to college. Bella, I've done this enough times over the years. Waiting until you are eighteen is the best option. It will also give me time to learn how to turn you. Carlisle can teach me. But I'll tell you this; unless I am 100% certain I can do it safely, I won't do it. I'm not going to find my soul mate only to lose her to my blood lust. Can you do that? For me?"

"Alice you know I can't refuse you anything. OK. Six months, after my eighteenth. Hmm, it's kind of overwhelming. But in a good way."

"You know it will be painful don't you? Three days of excruciating pain, for both of us." Alice looked almost distraught at the thought of the change.

Bella rubbed her back reassuringly. "I know sweetie. Will the others be ok with it?"

"Oh Bella, more than OK. You are a major part of this family already. Carlisle and Esme will be delighted to have another daughter. The others get another sister. And I get a partner, a lover and a soul mate. Having you as one of us, TRULY one of us, will be incredible. I have to admit, I had the vision of you as a vampire long ago, and I can't wait to see it for real."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because it had to be your decision. I didn't want to sway you either way."

"Silly vampire. Don't you know I love you? Being with you for eternity was the only logical step to take." Bella pulled Alice up to her again. She breathed in Alice's intoxicating scent and gently nibbled on her neck. She pulled back to look into Alice's eyes. "God I love you."

With that, the two girls settled on the bed and just lay in each others arms. They loved these times, no talking, just kissing, lying wrapped into each other; and, for Alice, watching Bella sleep. They lay like that for hours until they were interrupted by Bella's cell phone buzzing. She checked caller ID, it was Charlie.

"Hi Dad. Yeah, I'm still here. Is it? I lost track of time. You are? Do I have to? OK, see you in ten minutes." Bella hung up her phone and turned back towards Alice "That was Charlie; he just finished work and wanted to see if I was still here. He's gonna pick me up in a couple of minutes, take me home."

Alice picked up Bella's cell phone and checked the time. It was almost three o'clock in the morning, time had flown by. "Aw baby, do you really have to go?"

"I really do. I need to have some Dad time this weekend. He's fantastic about us but I think he misses me a little bit. I've gotta get out of this bed." Bella left the warm, comfy bed and started looking for her clothes. They were scattered all around the room. She found her bra hanging over the mirror, her jeans on top of the curtain rail. She picked up the destroyed shirt and stared at Alice, who had been enjoying the view as Bella walked around the room.

Alice giggled and tried to look innocent. "You said you didn't care for the shirt. Take whatever you want from my closet."

"Alice, the closet is too big. All I want is a simple shirt; can't you just grab one for me?"

"Bella, just look inside. On the left."

Bella did as she asked. On the left side of the closet, an entire section had been cleared and marked 'Bella'. Alice had filled the racks with shirts, jeans and Converse trainers. Everything Bella liked but smart, casual and elegant. Bella looked through the tops and emerged with a white, low cut shirt. "Alice. When did you do that? That's so thoughtful."

"Rosalie and I just grabbed a few things whenever we went out. I wanted you to have some things here. Just in case." she winked.

"You saw all this coming didn't you? You knew you were going to destroy my shirt!"

Alice didn't answer, she just smiled. She wanted to continue their conversation from earlier. Bella needed to be certain with what she was asking, "Bella, you're going to have to decide what to do about Charlie. When I turn you, you won't be able to be near him, or any human, for some time. As a newborn you won't be able to control your thirst and being around humans is far too dangerous."

Bella sat down on the bed. "I know. I've already thought about all of this Al, I'm not entering into this blindly. I promise." Bella sighed. "We'll think of something before then." Bella groaned as she heard Charlie blast the car horn outside the house. "Oh crap, he's here already. I've gotta go. I'll see you tomorrow. I love you." Bella leant down, gave Alice a quick kiss and moved towards the door. Before she knew what had happened, Alice had grabbed her, swung her on her back, and put her down at the front door. Bella shook her head, getting rid of the disoriented sensation. "Alice, please warn me if you're going to do that will you? And when did you get your clothes on?" Bella laughed.

"Just getting you used to vampire speed. Can you imagine, Bella Swan with vampire speed and grace? No more falling over." Alice laughed, remembering Bella's latest fall. She had tripped on someone else's trailing shoelace. Someone else's, not even her own! "Honestly Bella, you're like a cartoon sometimes."

"Hey! Stop remembering! Now kiss me." They shared another kiss and groaned as Emmett interrupted them.

"Way to go Bella. It sounded like you were having a lot of fun up there. You're quite the stud." he teased.

Bella spun around quickly, a look of pure horror on her face. At some point the whole family had returned home during the course of the evening. Even Rosalie was struggling to hide a smile, burying her face in her magazine. "You… you… heard… us?" '_Duh Bella, they're vampires, they hear everything!' _

Emmett roared with laughter. "Oh it was so good. Jasper had to leave; the lust and love drove him crazy."

"Oh. My. God." Bella turned and glared at Alice who was looking a little sheepish.

"I'm sorry. I didn't hear them come in, I was distracted." Alice protested, glaring at Emmett and Rosalie. Carlisle, Esme and Edward at least had the grace to leave the room, sparing Bella more embarrassment.

Bella was rooted to the spot. She probably would have stood there all night had it not been for Charlie. He was getting impatient outside, blasting the horn twice more. She gave Alice another quick kiss, ignoring Emmett's wolf-whistles. "Bye. Beat up Emmett for me ok? Bye everyone." She yelled and ran outside to the police cruiser. "Impatient much Dad?"

"It's late, or early, and I'm hungry." Charlie offered as an explanation. He waved to Alice who was stood in the doorway and pulled out of the Cullen driveway.

They were driving back to their house, riding in silence. It was a clear night, the stars and moon illuminating everything around them. There was no other traffic on the road. Charlie glanced at his daughter, bemused by the huge grin she had on her face. "You look happy Bells. Good night was it?"

Bella sighed to herself. "The best."

Back at the house Alice was beating up Emmett but suddenly froze, hit with a vision that could change everything. As she watched the vision play out she screamed, the sound full of pain. The others surrounded her immediately, waiting for her to come out of the obviously horrifying vision.

Out on the road, Bella and Charlie were chatting away happily and cruising along when suddenly, out of nowhere, something slammed into the side of the car. They both screamed as the force of the collision caused the car to spin out of control and roll repeatedly until it finally stopped, resting upside down against a tree.

Back at the house, Alice came out of the vision. "Oh please God no. EVERYONE JUST RUN, NOW!" Alice bolted out the front door, followed by the others and they ran with vampire speed in the direction Charlie and Bella had just left in.


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaime****r: I don't own Twilight or its fantastic characters. I've never owned it in the past and I will never own it in the future - Stephanie Meyer has this honour. I do own my mistakes though, and I'm sure there will be many **

**A/N: Sorry this took a while. My beta wants me to blame her but I'm not gonna do that – she rocks and does an awesome job with my grammatical screw-ups. I'm getting this up now as my beloved Liverpool FC are playing later and I think we are gonna get thrashed **

**A/N2: Big thanks and love and hugs to everyone who continues to review. I appreciate every single one immensely; they make my day whenever I get one. I suck at replying and for that I apologise.**

**Usual warning - this is a femslash story. Don't like? Don't read – Simples****!**

**On we go…**

**Chapter ****Thirteen**

The police cruiser was lying on its top, leaning precariously against a tree. There was smoke billowing out of the engine and the smell of petrol was strong in the air. Bella was hanging upside down in her seat, vaguely aware of extreme pain and something warm and sticky all over her face. _'What happened?_ _Another car accident? Am I upside down?' _She looked to her side, Charlie wasn't there."Dad?" She was beginning to panic. "Daddy, where are you?" _'Ow. Oh god, everything hurts.' _Before she could work out what had happened she felt herself being pulled from the car, her body ripped viciously through the leather seatbelt.

"Aghh." Bella screamed in agony as more pain spread throughout her body and overwhelmed her.

"Shut up, you pathetic excuse for a human."

Bella opened one eye, her other one was swollen shut. As her vision came into focus she realised she was being held in the air by a cold hand wrapped around her throat. She was facing a red-headed vampire. "Vic… Victoria?" she whispered.

"Oh. They've told you about me then." She seemed almost proud of that. "Good. Then you must know why I'm here." Victoria leaned in to whisper next to Bella's bloody ear. "A mate for mate." She ran her cold tongue slowly up the side of Bella's face, licking the blood that had run down. Bella tried to pull away but couldn't. "Mmm, delicious. I can see why the seer is so besotted with you. James was obsessed with her, the one who got away. She cost him his existence. Now I will DESTROY HERS!" Victoria screamed and threw Bella's badly battered body through the air. She collided against a large, thick oak tree. Bella hit the tree with such violent force; a deafening crack was heard and she slid to the ground.

Victoria was crouched over Bella in an instant, just staring at the girl as she started to succumb to the pain. Bella started to drift away, waiting for the inevitable death that was coming. _'Please, just let it be quick. I love you Alice,' _Bella thought in her head, wondering if Edward would hear her last thought, hoping desperately that he would.

"Are you thinking of her? She's almost here. The last thing she will see will be your death." Victoria leant down to Bella's neck and inhaled sharply. "This… will hurt."

Alice, Edward, Emmett, Rosalie, Jasper, Carlisle and Esme arrived at the scene just in time to see Bella being thrown against the tree and Victoria lean over her with her teeth poised precariously over Bella's neck. Everything had happened in a matter of seconds.

Alice screamed. "Nooooooooo!" and ran over to Bella.

The others launched a violent attack on Victoria, pulling her away from the now unconscious Bella and ripping her to shreds. The fury and the monster inside all of them had been unleashed; they were showing their true, vampiric nature. Victoria tried to put up a fight, but it was futile. She was outnumbered. In her grief she had made a very stupid mistake and she knew it. The last thing she saw in this world was Emmett's snarling face as he placed his hands either side of her head and ripped it off.

Alice was kneeling in the dirt, next to Bella's motionless body. She checked her neck, relieved to find that Victoria had not managed to succeed in biting her. "Bella? Bella honey, please wake up." '_Oh my god there's so much blood.' _She had the blood of her soul mate on her hands. She brought her hand to her face and inhaled, rolling her eyes at the mouth-watering scent. _No! I won't give in!' _"Carlisle!"

Carlisle was about to check on Charlie, who had been thrown a few feet away from the car, when he noticed Alice was about to move Bella. He yelled. "Alice, no!" He ran over to stop her. "Don't move her; I think her back might be broken. Did you hear that crack?" Carlisle's eyes turned black as he scanned Bella from head to toe, making a mental note of her injuries. "Oh no," he whispered. "Alice, call 911 and get emergency services out here straight away, we can't move her."

"But what about Vic…" Alice broke off as an explosion rocked behind her. The car had gone up in flames. She turned to the others, watching as they threw Victoria's remains on to the burning car, the smoke and flames blurring the once clear, night sky. She turned back to Carlisle. "Never mind"."

"All traces of Victoria will be cleaned up before they get here. We need to get Bella and Charlie to hospital fast."

"Right." Alice stood up and turned, running into Edward who had walked up behind them. "Edward can I use your phone? I need to get an ambulance for Bella and Charlie."

"Actually, just Bella. I've already called 911. The others are clearing up; the evidence will be gone by the time the paramedics get here." Edward was standing still; looking down at his feet, looking up at the sky, looking everywhere, but the face of his sister.

"What?" Alice whispered.

Edward paused, he was visibly upset. "Charlie's dead. I think the impact killed him immediately."

"Oh no." Alice groaned and fell to her knees again. "Not Charlie, this can't be happening. Edward, Victoria left it so late to decide this. I couldn't see it coming until it was already happening. This is all my fault. What's the point of my gift if it can be abused like this?" she screamed. Alice turned back to Bella. Her beautiful face was covered in blood, one eye swollen completely shut. Her arm was obviously broken but that's all Alice could see on the outside. Alice wasn't thinking about the blood at all. All she cared about was Bella. Edward was coping alright but the others were keeping their distance. They had done all they could for now. "Carlisle, what has she done to her?" Alice asked, hesitantly.

Carlisle sighed. "Head injury, facial injuries, broken arm, fractured ribs and leg. I can sense a laceration on her spleen and her back appears to be broken."

Alice dry sobbed as she listened to Carlisle, all the while stroking Bella's hand, the one part of her that doesn't seem to be hurt. "Is it too late for her? Should we turn her?" she asked fearfully.

"I don't know. I need to get her into surgery and assess the damage. If it is too late I will make arrangements to certify her death and move her to the house. I hope it doesn't come to that, I'm not sure she would survive. I have to give her a chance Alice. She may pull through this. Turning her right now could possibly kill her."

As Carlisle spoke, the ambulance pulled up. "Dr. Cullen, what are you doing here? Are you alright sir?" a paramedic asked.

"I'm fine. Please take care of Bella. I believe her back is broken and she has numerous other injuries. Her father is over there, I think he was killed on impact and thrown from the car. Please radio for the Medical Examiner. Bella is the priority. Get her to the hospital and let Dr. Greene know she's to go straight to surgery. I will follow in my car."

"Yes sir." The paramedics gently placed Bella on to a gurney and placed splints on her leg and arm. Her neck was in a brace and she was strapped to a back board. They placed her in the ambulance and sped to Forks Hospital.

As soon as they were out of sight, Carlisle turned to Emmett "Son, would you please stay here with Charlie. The M.E will be on the way. I don't want to leave him here alone."

"No problem. I'll meet you at the hospital when I'm done." Emmett hugged Rosalie and stayed behind as the others left, keeping a protective vigil by the body of Bella's father.

Carlisle and the others ran back to the house for their cars and arrived at the hospital only one minute after the paramedics. A nurse was waiting at the admitting desk.

"Doctor Cullen, we heard you were on the way. The girl is in O.R One sir."

"Thank you. Esme, would you please check Bella in at the desk. I have to go." He rushed to scrub in for the surgery. He left the others in the waiting room, feeling completely and utterly useless. Esme at least had something to do; she headed to the desk to give them Bella's information.

Alice sat silently on the uncomfortable, orange plastic seat. She was rocking slightly, staring straight ahead. "It's all my fault, all my fault. I didn't see it." she whispered. Everyone heard her and Edward and Jasper were by her side, immediately trying to reassure the distraught vampire.

"Alice, in no way is this your fault. Victoria knew how to avoid your gift, you couldn't have done anything. I should have followed Bella and Charlie, made sure they got home safely. I never should have assumed Victoria had left the area." Edward said.

"Me neither." Jasper added.

"Oh will you three just stop it!" Rosalie yelled. "This is no-one's fault, you hear me? NO-ONE! That deranged bitch was determined to get to Bella one way or another. Or you Alice. Bella is at least still alive. She still has a chance. If we'd showed up just one second later, one second, she would be dead, no doubt about that. Focus on Bella. She lost her father tonight. Please, can we just wait and see what Carlisle says before playing the blame game? I can't listen to that all night." Rosalie sat back down. Emmett had arrived during her tirade and sat next to her, hugging her protectively. Rosalie put her head on Emmett's shoulder and held his hand. Jasper, Edward and Alice just stared at her incredulously.

"You love her don't you Rose?" Alice spoke up quietly.

"The human has… grown on me. I was getting used to her being around and she made you disgustingly happy. I don't want her to die. If she does you'll be moping for the next century." Rosalie looked down at the floor. The comment would have sounded harsh to an outsider but Alice knew it was a front, that her sister was upset.

Esme sat the other side of Rosalie and pulled her into a hug. "I'm sure she'll be fine, she's a strong girl. One of the strongest human's I've ever met." She looked at Emmett sadly. "Emmett, where is Charlie?"

"The M.E has taken him to the town morgue. There will be an autopsy but he thinks he should be able to release the body in twenty four hours."

Everyone settled into silence again. The loss of Charlie was going to be felt by the whole town. With nothing more to do or say, they could only wait for Carlisle to bring news, whatever it may be. Alice watched the clock in the waiting room. The small hand moving infuriatingly slowly and not getting anywhere. The tick of the hands seemed to resonate loudly through the waiting room. Never had time gone so slowly for a vampire. She tried to get a vision of Bella, of all possible outcomes, but it didn't work. There were too many variables, too many possibilities. Death being one of them but Alice wouldn't, couldn't, think about that.

After five long hours, Carlisle walked slowly into the anxious waiting room. He had disposed of his scrubs but he still had Bella's scent all over him, everyone could smell it. Jasper stopped breathing, walked to the farthest corner of the room and nodded at Carlisle to let him know he was alright. Carlisle acknowledged the gesture and kept a decent distance from his son. Alice just stared at Carlisle apprehensively, terrified of what he might be about to say.

"She's still alive." Everyone breathed a totally unnecessary sigh of relief and waited for Carlisle to continue "But the next twenty four hours will be critical." He looked Alice. "We did lose her once but we managed to bring her back. The arm and leg fractures were clean; we've set them in a cast. The ribs will also heal. The laceration on her spleen has been repaired. She has superficial facial and head injuries. She also lost a lot of blood; we had to give her three transfusions. But, as I feared, the force in which she was thrown against the tree has broken her back. The break will heal but…" Carlisle paused.

"We don't know yet if she will be able to walk again once it has."


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaime****r: I don't own Twilight or its fantastic characters. I've never owned it in the past and I will never own it in the future - Stephanie Meyer has this honour. I do own my mistakes though, and I'm sure there will be many **

**A/N: Sorry this has taken so long. The good news, I do have the rest of this fic written. Only one, maybe two more chapters to come. I'm not sure yet whether to end this one and start a separate sequel or just keep F&I going. Also, I have taken liberties with Renee's character purely to fit my story. I hope I don't upset Renee fans but if I do, please forgive me! I also think this is my longest chapter – ever. Surprising as I found it so hard to write, it brought up memories of losing my Gramps.**

**Totally unrelated – I found out today I'm going to be an Auntie! I'm so happy **

**Usual warning - this is a femslash story. Don't like? Don't read – Simples****!**

**Chapter ****Fourteen**

It had been another three hours since Carlisle told them the news: the news that Bella had died, and the news that Bella may not walk again. Alice had been going totally crazy during that time, but Carlisle was adamant that Bella needed to be settled first before allowing anyone in to see her. Finally, for his own sanity more than anything, he agreed to let the hyper pixie see her girlfriend.

Alice tentatively entered the small hospital room and let out the breath she hadn't realised she had been holding. Bella, her precious Bella, was lying on the bed. She looked so small and fragile; the only sign of life was the reassuring beep of the heart monitor. Alice sat next to the bed and for once, since she became a vampire, she wished she could cry. "Oh Bella, I'm so sorry."

Bella looked awful. Her face was one big bruise with her right eye swollen shut. She had a bandage around her head, her arm and leg were in a cast, and she had two large blocks either side of her body to prevent her from moving. She also had an oxygen tube under her nose, helping her to breathe. Alice gently picked up the hand that was uninjured and kissed it gently, scrunching her nose slightly at the odd smell. Carlisle had finally allowed her to come in and she had no intention of leaving. She was going to stay until Bella was ready to leave the hospital, even though Carlisle had no idea when that may be. _'How did it come to this? We were so happy earlier; it was the best night of my life so far. How did it turn into the worst?' _

Alice felt a hand rest gently on her shoulder and looked up. "Carlisle," she sighed "How can she get through this? She looks so bad. And she doesn't smell like Bella either."

"It's the transfusions. She'll be Bella again very soon, I promise." Carlisle looked sadly at his daughter and then Bella.

"Did we do the right thing? Not turning her?" Alice wondered.

"Absolutely, I have no doubt in my mind. Bella may not have survived the transformation with these injuries Alice. We could have lost her. I wasn't willing to take that chance," Carlisle paused as that thought sunk in. He never truly realised the impact Bella had made on his family until tonight. Yes, he knew everyone, himself included, loved her; but the fury his wife and children had showed when destroying Victoria had taken him by surprise. Carlisle had never seen such anger in his family. Bella Swan was family, in every sense of the word apart from one aspect. And Carlisle sincerely hoped that day would come, that this wasn't the end.

"Alice, I had to call Bella's mother. She's her only surviving relative now. She's getting the first flight out of Jacksonville and she will be here tomorrow afternoon. Sweetheart, it's important that you keep up appearances. I know you don't want to leave Bella, but you MUST hunt. The others are going tonight. After everything that has happened they need to feed." Carlisle took in Alice's black eyes. "And so do you. Please, please go with them."

Alice knew he was right. She couldn't let their secret slip to Bella's mother, or anyone else at the hospital. "Will someone be with her all the time?" she asked.

"Yes, I will make sure of it."

"Okay, but I'm coming straight back afterwards and no-one will throw me out." Alice stood defiantly, causing Carlisle to chuckle. He would love to see someone try to throw his daughter out.

"I will make sure the nurses know not to disturb you. Now go hunt, everyone's waiting for you."

Alice kissed Carlisle on the cheek and turned to kiss Bella. Finding a spot other than her hand that wasn't hurt was difficult, but she found one. Alice placed a gentle kiss on Bella's lifeless lips. For the first time since they had first kissed, Bella's lips were as cold as her own. She didn't like it, not under these circumstances. "I'll be back very soon my Bella. I love you."

*******

It had been a week since that fateful night. That night had been both the best and worst of Alice's entire existence. That night Charlie Swan died and Bella Swan almost lost her life. Renee had turned up the day after it happened. At the risk of sounding cruel, she wasn't much use to anyone. She fretted about her husband as much as she worried about Bella.

After the woman had proved herself to be scatty, erratic and somewhat useless with this sort of thing, Esme had taken it upon herself to organise Charlie's funeral. It had been a beautiful service. Charlie was laid to rest in a picturesque spot in the cemetery that Esme had picked out, underneath a large tree, overlooking the town. The whole town of Forks had turned out to say goodbye to Chief Swan, even the Quileute Indians who hardly ever left their reservation. Esme and Carlisle attended the funeral for Bella. The regret and grief that Bella couldn't be there was evident, but after a week, she still had not woken up.

Alice had glued herself to Bella's side every single day, never leaving until the early hours of the morning to hunt. She was fully aware that she couldn't expose what she was to Renee; she had to ensure her eyes remained gold. Alice was grateful to her family. Her siblings had come for her every night to take her out to feed. Emmett even offered to bring her a small rabbit or guinea pig, a 'snack' she could have in the grounds of the hospital. Rosalie had slapped him hard for that suggestion and Alice steadfastly refused. She couldn't eat a cute little rabbit or a guinea pig, they were cuddly and adorable.

Alice was currently curled up in the chair next to Bella, reading Wuthering Heights out loud. It was one of Bella's favourite books and Alice was trying anything she could to get Bella to wake up. Carlisle encouraged her to do this as he was certain Bella could hear. He was convinced Alice would be the one to bring her out of her unconscious state.

While Alice was reading, Renee had turned up. She stood in the doorway, watching Alice intently. She had wanted to ask the girl something since she had arrived in Forks. Renee may be scatterbrained, but she was an observant woman. She waited until Alice finished the chapter she was reading and entered the room. "So, Alice, how long have you been in love with my daughter?" she asked with a smile.

Alice looked up, slightly startled. Again, she was focused so intensely on Bella she had neglected to see this coming. She had been ignoring her visions for the last week. She decided to be honest; this was no time for lies, "Ever since I met her." 'S_ince before I met her, but I can't tell you that.' _"She stole my heart and I love her more than anything. There's nothing I wouldn't do for her."

Renee smiled. "I knew it; it radiates off you. I take it the feeling is mutual?"

"Yes, Bella is very much in love with me. We told Charlie a little while ago and he was so great. I don't know how I'm going to tell her he's gone when she wakes up."

Renee just stared down at the linoleum floor. As Bella's mother she knew it was supposed to be her job to do that, to tell her only daughter her father was dead, but she couldn't do it. She had let Bella down too often in the past and she knew she would do it again. Renee liked Alice and her family very much, although she was aware the feeling wasn't entirely mutual. Oh, they were friendly enough, but they weren't warm. She knew Bella would be alright with them. Despite her selfishness, she did want her daughter to be happy.

Alice asked Renee. "So, you're completely okay with us? Being together?"

"Oh Alice, Bella almost died. Believe me, being in a gay relationship is NOTHING I would be bothered about. I'm just so happy she's found love. And she caught herself quite a catch I must say." Renee winked at Alice, causing the small girl to laugh.

Alice was about to resume reading Wuthering Heights when she heard it: a blip in the heart monitor. It was small, probably only noticeable to her vampire hearing, but it was there. She glanced at Renee who had obviously not heard anything. Alice watched the monitor: beep, beep, beep, beep... There it was again, the blip. Suddenly, it started to speed up. Alice could hear Bella's heart beating faster and her vampire senses noticed a small twitch in Bella's hand.

"Bella? Bella honey can you hear me?" she spoke softly, rubbing the girl's hand gently. The beep of the monitor continued to increase, as did the movement in Bella's hand. It was as if she was looking for something. Alice lay her hand under Bella's and gasped as Bella grasped it weakly. Renee had bolted out of the room screaming for Carlisle, scaring the living daylights out of a passing nurse. Alice continued to speak to Bella, stroking her moving hand.

"Bella honey, wake up. Come on, you can do this." Alice watched as Bella struggled to open her eyes "One of your eyes is swollen; just try opening your left eye. Come on baby." Slowly but surely, Bella's left eye opened and gazed into the distance. Alice lowered her face above Bella's to give her something to focus on and smiled with pure joy as Bella looked at her. _'Oh, I've missed those beautiful brown eyes.'_

"A… Alice?"

"BELLA, you're back!" Alice couldn't contain her joy as Carlisle rushed in with two nurses.

"Alice, you'll have to leave while I check Bella over. You can come straight back when I'm done. I've already sent Renee to the waiting room." Alice made no effort to leave the room. "Alice Cullen I will get security to drag you out if I have to." He stated. With that "threat" Alice reluctantly left the room and made her way to the waiting area. Renee was anxiously pacing the room so, with nothing else to do, Alice joined her.

Renee mumbled. "Is she okay?"

"I don't know. I got thrown out of the room!" Alice threw her hands up in the air and huffed as she kept pace with Renee. She pulled her cell phone out her pocket and called the family to let them know Bella had woken up. Within ten minutes, keeping up appearances for Renee's sake, they were all in the waiting room, pacing with Renee and Alice.

After the longest thirty minutes of their lives, Carlisle entered the waiting room. Unlike the last time he did this, he had a small smile on his face. "I've checked Bella over and I'm pleased to say she is now fully conscious. Her arm, leg and internal injuries are healing well. She should be out of the casts in a few weeks. The head injury has also left no lasting damage. Being unconscious for a week has helped in a way. However, her back is still very swollen and she is not reacting to any stimuli on her legs or feet. But I have checked the recent X-Rays and I am fairly sure she will regain feeling once the swelling reduces and the break heals." Carlisle stopped as everyone started to speak at the same time, their relief flowing through the room. Carlisle whistled and everyone fell silent again. "Hold on. It's good news, but she's still in for a rough time. She'll need physiotherapy and a lot of care. But I am confident enough to say I expect a complete recovery."

Carlisle thanked the gods for his vampire strength as he was engulfed by his family members all at the same time. Renee watched in amazement at their reactions, she had no idea how ingrained Bella was in the Cullen family. They were all laughing in sheer relief. Alice sank into a plastic chair and held her head in her hands.

Renee knelt down and tilted Alice's face up to meet hers. Renee smiled and embraced Alice in a hug. "She's okay." Then Renee turned to Esme and spoke quietly, "Can we please talk privately?"

"Of course, let's go outside." The two women, vampire and human, strolled slowly to a bench outside the hospital entrance. It was an overcast day; there was no chance of Esme suddenly sparkling in the sunshine. Esme sat quietly, waiting to hear what the woman had to say. She found Renee to be a strange woman. She felt her love for Bella, but her past actions had been very selfish. Esme couldn't quite connect with a woman who could only put her own needs above her daughter's. Although she was willing to listen, and see what Renee had to say, "You must be very relieved about Bella."

"Oh, I am. I truly am. Despite everything, I don't know what I would have done if I had lost her as well." Renee had a guilty look on her face, not sure if she should do what she was about to do. "Esme, I have been observing you and your family this past week. I have to say I trust you all with my daughter. What I have seen this week has been amazing. Bella has found love with your daughter and she has been accepted into your family unconditionally."

Esme beamed. "We love her very much Renee. I consider her my daughter, part of my family. But that's not what you brought me out here to say is it?"

"No. Esme, I am about to ask you something very important. I heard what Carlisle said, Bella has a rough ride in front of her. I love my daughter dearly, but my life now is on the road all the time; I can't be there for her, not in the way she needs me to be. I have a husband to think about. Esme, would you please consider taking Bella in to live with you and your family permanently? Now Charlie has gone…" Renee couldn't finish that sentence. "Please don't think badly of me. After seeing everything this week I know that the best thing I can do for Bella is to place her into your care. I'll sign anything. I'll even send you money. I just hope you'll say yes."

Esme blinked furiously. "I don't understand you at all. You say you love her but… She's your only daughter! She's seriously injured and you still can't put her first?" Esme was getting angry. "I would have thought that something like this would make you realise how much you stand to lose." For the second time in a week a Cullen wished they could cry. "Personally, I don't know how you can do this, how you can live with it. However, it would be our honour and our pleasure to take Bella in. We will get Bella through this. She will be loved and cared for as one of my own. You can keep your money, we don't need it." Esme was furious, but there was no way she would deny the woman's request.

Renee nodded and the tears freely flowed. She was giving up her daughter. She knew it was the right thing to do, but she still hated herself for it. "Thank you." She sobbed. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me. I'm doing this for Bella, not you."

Edward had exited the hospital and approached the two women cautiously. "Renee, Bella is asking for you. Alice is already with her."

"Esme, I can't go in. I can't see Bella and leave her, it would be cruel. Can you please go in and explain? Tell her about Charlie?" Renee asked, "I will be forever in your debt."

'_This woman has no shame.__ It's a wonder Bella turned out as well as she has.' _Esme nodded her head curtly and watched as Renee left.

"Are you alright?" Edward asked his mother.

"No, I'm not. I just can't understand people like that. How can she do this to Bella? It's heartbreaking."

Edward wrapped his arm around Esme's shoulder, "Come on."

Esme and Edward walked back inside and Esme explained to the family what Renee had asked of them. They all agreed to the woman's request unequivocally. Esme was very proud of her family. Having Bella live with them would be hard on all of them, yet they had no hesitation in agreeing. Esme slowly made her way to Bella's room, dreading the conversation she was about to have. She went inside to be greeted by the sight of Alice lying with her head on Bella's chest and Bella's uninjured arm resting across Alice's back.

Bella opened her good eye as she heard someone come into the room, "Mom?"

Alice lifted her head as Esme sat next to Bella on the other side of the bed. She had seen this conversation coming; this was going to be hard. She held Bella's hand softly and waited for Esme to start speaking.

"No, it's me Bella." Esme spoke quietly, "Your mother, she asked me to tell you that…"

"Let me guess: she had to leave, and go back to Phil?" Esme nodded sadly. "Don't worry about it, really. She's been like that my whole life. But I can't be angry at her; her actions led me to you and your family. I'm grateful to her actually." Bella groaned slightly, the pain meds were starting to wear off.

"Bella, how are you feeling honey?" Esme asked. "Shall I get Carlisle?"

"No, no. It's okay. It's weird. My arm hurts, my head hurts. My ribs hurt. I can see my leg is broken, but I feel numb from the waist down. Carlisle explained everything but… It's just strange. How's Charlie? Is he doing okay?"

"Bella, do you remember what happened?" Alice asked, glancing at Esme.

"Yes, sort of... It's all a blur. I remember having the greatest night of my life. Then it jumps to me being held in the air by my throat. I remember Victoria hovering over me and then nothing. I think I passed out just as Victoria was about to kill me. I don't remember anything after that. Is she dead?"

Esme spoke first. "Yes, she is. You don't have to worry about her any more sweetie. Bella… there's something else you need to know."

Alice gripped Bella's hand as tightly as she could without hurting her as she waited for Esme to continue. Alice also noticed Jasper standing in the doorway, just out of sight, ready to use his gift in case things took a turn for the worse. Bella just stared at Esme, waiting to hear what she had to say. She had no idea what was coming.

"What? Did she kill someone? Oh no, is one of your family dead?" Bella was distraught at the thought that one of the Cullen's was dead. The thought it might be Charlie had not yet entered her mind.

"Oh, no sweetheart, we are all fine. Oh Bella, I don't know how to tell you this. I'm afraid Charlie died in the crash. His injuries were so severe he died instantly. He wouldn't have felt any pain and…" Esme broke off and Alice felt her heart shatter into millions of pieces as Bella cried out in pain, both physical and with grief. Bella's choked breaths were coming hard and fast and the tears were streaming down her face.

"Oh nooo… Not my dad. Not Charlie! I… I can't… breathe. Oh god, it hurts. My chest hu…" Bella broke off; the sobs were too hard and too painful for her to speak. Alice locked eyes with Jasper, pleading silently for him to help her. Bella felt calming waves brush over her, but she didn't want it; it would only make things worse. "Jasper stop it, please!" she begged weakly. She had no strength to yell. Bella got her breathing and sobbing under some semblance of control. "Please Jasper let me feel it. I need to." Jasper pulled his ability back and Bella held on to Alice's hand in with a death grip as the pain came flooding back. She had been right; taking it away had made it worse. Alice tried to soothe her, rubbing her arm gently. "DAMN IT." Bella screamed. "WHY DID THIS HAPPEN? WHY DIDN'T YOU SEE THIS ALICE?"

Alice pulled back, startled at the sudden display of strength as she felt Bella's anger and grief being directed at her. "Bella I… I didn't get a vision until it was already happening. Victoria knew how to get around my ability. I am so sorry, you have to believe me. We got you as quickly as we could. We were just in time."

"Not for Charlie you weren't. I'm sorry, I can't take this in. I just… I need to be alone. I can't breathe. Please just leave me alone." Bella cried gently.

"No, I'm not leaving you. I…"

"PLEASE JUST LEAVE ME THE HELL ALONE!"

"Come on Alice," Esme pulled Alice gently away from Bella's bedside. "Bella, we'll be right outside, we're not going anywhere."

Bella didn't answer as Esme led Alice out the room. Alice was furious, "Esme, what the hell are you doing? I need to stay with her, she's grieving."

"Yes, she is. She's also very angry right now. She's just found out her father's dead, her mother has left her yet again and she can't walk! If she wants to be alone we have to let her be alone. Alice, we aren't leaving her. Just let her have her human moments and be there for her when she needs you to be, when she's ready." Alice just glared silently, knowing Esme was right, but not wanting to agree with her. "Alice, Bella is going to need you more than ever right now. You are going to bear the brunt of her grief, her anger, and her frustration. But she will get through this, I know she will. And you'll be there every step of the way. We all will."

Edward spoke up next. "Alice, she is a mess right now. Her thoughts are so jumbled she can't think straight. She certainly has no idea what she's saying, what she's doing." As he spoke their vampire hearing picked up a small voice.

"Alice? Please come back."

Forced to walk at a frustratingly slow human pace, Alice was back by Bella's side as soon as she could be. "Bella?"

"Alice, I'm sorry," she sobbed. "I didn't mean to yell at you, it's just…I just… I…I can't… Charlie's dead. He's gone and he's never coming back. And I can't move Alice!"

"Sssh, I know." Alice held the sobbing Bella, "I know."

"Please stay with me."

"Always."

And Alice held Bella all night. She consoled her when her nightmares woke her up, when her grief made it hard for her to breathe, and as her legs failed to do what she wanted them to do.

Alice never left her side. And she never would.


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: I do not now, nor have I ever owned Twilight ****or it's characters. This honour goes to Stephanie Meyer.**

**A/N: Hello! I'm not dead! I'm sorry this took so long to get posted, life has a nasty habit of biting me in the ass when I least expect it. The good news is that Ch 16 is already with my beta, who is totally awesome, and it will be the final chapter of Fire & Ice.**

**On a separate note, I am desperately hoping the Internet goss about Ashley Greene getting axed for asking for more money is not true. If it is, all I will say is that she is worth just as much as "The Holy Trinity" and Summit must have made more than enough to pay whatever she is asking. Breaking Dawn will NOT be the same without her!! **

**Okay, rant over and on with the show…**

**Chapter ****Fifteen**

Six weeks. Six long, tortuous weeks since Charlie's murder, since the start of Bella's recovery, of physiotherapy and pain. Bella was finally out of hospital and had been living with the Cullen's for two weeks now. It should have been the happiest time of her life, living with Alice and the family she loved. She should have been looking forward to joining them, completely and for eternity. Instead, she was currently struggling to travel the short distance from the couch to the kitchen.

In the weeks since Victoria killed Charlie, Bella's arm, leg and head injury had healed. She was no longer in a cast and her vision was back to being 20/20. Her back injury however was a different story. As the swelling reduced and the break healed, Bella had regained some mobility. However, to her dismay, it was limited. Carlisle had confirmed that her back had healed though there was some residual nerve damage that wasn't picked up until later. Bella could now get around, albeit very slowly, with the aid of two crutches for support.

Bella had also been going through some intense physiotherapy which left her tired and irritable all the time. The frustration of not getting any better was consuming her. She had become withdrawn and she had started to resent the Cullen's, and Alice, for not turning her when the accident happened. The rational part of her brain, the reasonable part, knew they had done the right thing. She knew that she may not have survived the change. But the irrational, angry part of her? Well, that part just lashed out at the people she loved over stupid, irrelevant little things. Bella laughed at herself wryly, _'Who'd have thought a mere human girl like me could have an entire family of vampires walking on eggshells, afraid to say or do anything that could set me off.'_

Alice. Bella despised herself for the way she had been treating Alice. Alice had been nothing but an angel, a godsend. She had been with Bella every step of the way. She drove her at a human speed to her physiotherapy sessions, and attended the sessions as a helper. Even though she had struggled with the stench of blood that lingered in the hospital, Alice had been the one to catch Bella every time she fell. Alice had been the one to hold Bella up so she could try and walk a few steps then regain more strength in her legs. Alice had been the one to cook for her, even though Bella never ate the food. Bella had noticeably lost weight. She was very thin and her face looked hollow, with dark circles under her eyes. Alice was the one to help her get dressed every day and lie next to her in bed, soothing her as her nightmares caused her to wake screaming almost every night. The lack of sleep combined with everything else had caused Bella's withdrawal from the people she loved. She saw the concern in Alice's eyes, in all of their eyes, but she couldn't bring herself to care. And the worst thing was Bella hadn't even been to visit Charlie. She couldn't. Right now, at this moment in time, Bella couldn't imagine ever having the life she had craved, the life she had looked forward to so much until six weeks ago.

Now, as Bella was trying to get to the kitchen to get a drink, she felt incredibly guilty. She thought back to the things she had said only a short while ago.

**Earlier**

_Bella was lying on the couch, channel surfing. __Out of the corner of her eye she saw Alice appear from the kitchen, but ignored her. She was in a foul mood and just wanted to be left alone._

_Alice approached Bella ca__utiously, she had picked up on her girlfriend's mood. "Bella? Do you need anything sweetie?"_

_Bella never took her eyes off the TV. __"No."_

_Alice sighed. "Bella, you haven't eaten anything since yesterday. Even then you only had toast. You need to keep your strength up; you're disappearing before my eyes."_

"_Strength? What the hell for? I'm useless or have you forgotten?" _

_Bella's words stung, but Alice bit her tongue and hid it. "Bella you are not useless. You are getting better, it just takes time and…"_

"_Alice, please don't. Have you forgotten what Carlisle said? This may be as good as it gets for me! I can't do anything without asking for help. I can barely dress myself without falling over. Being around you and your perfect family makes me feel… makes me feel… so angry! I should be looking forward to being with you forever but because none of you even tried to change me I'm stuck like this! So please don't stand there and tell me I am getting better. I'm not." Bella had got angrier as she had been speaking. She could see the hurt on Alice's face but she couldn't stop herself. Her mouth had disengaged from her brain and was running on autopilot. "I swear to god, sometimes I think it would have been better if I'd died with Charlie. At least you could all move on instead of being stuck with a useless cripple. Christ, even my own mother didn't want me around."_

_Alice was fuming. __"Isabella Marie Swan, how dare you say that? If you had died I would have gone to the Volturi and killed myself! I can't be without you; you are my soul mate, the love of my life, whether you have two good legs or none! A world without you is a world I want no part of. You need to get out of this depression you're in Bella otherwise you will end up pushing away everyone who loves you."_

"_How? How do I get out of it Alice? You have all the answers so tell me! My Dad's dead because of..." Bella broke off. She looked at Alice, her eyes were black. She was so angry._

"_Go ahead, say it. Because of me right? Because my visions failed me." Bella remained silent; she couldn't answer "Go on Bella, say it out loud, you might feel better. You blame me for Charlie's death. Just three little words. I. Blame. You." Still Bella remained silent "Fine. Be that way. I'm going hunting."_

**Present**

And Alice had left, slamming the door behind her and causing it to break away from the frame. She had been neglecting to hunt lately; all her energy had been focused on Bella and she hadn't realised just how thirsty she was.

Esme had stayed behind with Bella; she had heard the two girls arguing, but refrained from interfering. After fixing the door she had gone outside. She was renovating a small house in the next field that they owned. Esme was hoping that it was eventually going to be Alice and Bella's house, although right now she wasn't sure they would ever use it. She was worried; Bella had become so withdrawn and depressed, Alice was struggling to get her out of it. Bella hadn't even been to visit Charlie yet. '_How can she possibly heal and start to move on if she keeps everything bottled up? She is going to reach a breaking point sooner or later, she has to.' _Esme shook her head and continued her work on the house. It was a good distraction.

Back inside the main house, Bella had finally made it to the kitchen and leant against the counter to get her breath and some strength back. She knew she should have called for Esme but her stubborn streak wouldn't let her. She was determined to stop being useless and start to fend for herself. _'Come on, you can do this.' _Bella leant on the counter and her crutches for balance and slowly stretched one arm out to the cupboard above her to get a Coke.

Before the accident she had been trying, with no success at all, to make everyone keep the drinks in the refrigerator. Alice had become used to freezing the drinks with her hands so they kept forgetting and left the cans in a cupboard. So now Bella was exhausting herself for a room temperature Coke, but she was thirsty so it would have to do. She managed to grab the first can in the cupboard and, as had happened numerous times over the course of the last few weeks, her legs suddenly gave out on her.

'_Damn it, not again!' _As Bella fell to the floor, she tried desperately to grab on to something to stop herself falling but only managed to succeed in pulling down some plates and glasses with her as she fell. Bella sat on the kitchen floor in a crumpled heap and tried desperately to keep the tears and frustration locked up inside. She failed. Bella let out an agonising scream, picked up the plates that had remained in one piece, and threw them against the wall. They shattered into hundreds of pieces. The floodgates had finally been opened. Everything she had been keeping bottled up inside was now being released from its prison. Huge, wracking sobs left Bella's body. The pain over her useless legs, grief over Charlie, and guilt over the way she had been treating Alice finally overcame her. She was vaguely aware of someone holding her.

"Oh Bella. Okay honey, let it all out. Ssh." _'Here we go, this is the breaking point.' _Esme cradled Bella gently, rocking her. Bella leant into Esme, holding on for dear life and soaking her shirt with her tears. "Its okay, its okay." As Esme held the distraught girl she could feel her ribs and bones protruding. _'My god, she's so thin.' _The mothering instinct Esme possessed took over. She just needed to be there for Bella, she could feed her up when the girl was ready.

"Esme… I'm… sorry." Bella gulped out, not letting go of the woman's shirt.

"You have nothing to be sorry for sweetheart."

"Yes I do, I've been horrible to all of you. And… and I broke your plates!"

Esme laughed. "Oh Bella, I have hundreds of plates! At least you didn't smash my antiques." She teased.

"Esme I've been so mean to Alice. Oh god, I blamed her for Charlie's death! How could I do that?"

"She knows you didn't mean it Bella, it was the anger and the grief talking."

"But I still said it and I can't take it back. I can't ever take any of it back, she must hate me!" Bella started crying again. Unbeknownst to her Alice had returned to the house a couple of minutes ago; she had heard the screaming, smashing and she had ran back to the house. Esme had caught Alice's eye as she entered the house and shook her head 'no' ever so slightly. Bella hadn't even noticed. Alice had remained where she was, slightly out of sight, listening to everything that Bella said. Now, Esme gestured to Alice to come over. She was beside Bella in a second, taking Esme's place on the floor.

"Alice?"

"Shh, I'm here." Alice stroked Bella's long hair and resumed the rocking Esme had been doing.

"Alice I'm so sorry. I didn't mean what I said I promise. Please don't hate me, I can't…"

"Bella, I don't hate you. I love you. I love you so, so much it actually hurts. You're human; it's natural to behave the way you have." Bella released yet another wave of sobs as Alice's words sank in. Alice picked her up off the floor, bridal style, and sat her back on the couch. Esme started to clean up the shattered china and Alice sat on the coffee table in front of Bella. She gently placed her hand under Bella's chin and lifted her so she was facing her. "Now, do you mind telling me what the hell you were doing?"

Bella had the sense to look embarrassed "I was thirsty and I didn't want to bother Esme so I tried to get a Coke by myself."

Esme walked in with the offending Coke and handed it to Alice who chilled it. "When are you going to get it into your thick head that you are not a bother?" Esme said, knocking on Bella's head jokingly. She placed her crutches beside her.

"I know, I know. I take after my Dad, too independent and stubborn for my own good." Bella sighed quietly, the thought of Charlie making her chest hurt.

"You got that right you stubborn ass." Alice snickered, lightening the mood as she passed the now ice cold Coke to Bella and sat next to her on the couch.

Bella snuggled into Alice's cold body and sighed again. "Alice, I'm…"

"Stop. You've already apologised. It's all forgotten. I'm just so glad you can really start getting better now. I've missed you Bella." Alice leant in and kissed Bella softly on the lips. They both moaned; they had missed this, had missed each other. Even though they had been together almost 24/7, it hadn't been the same. Bella was there in body but her spirit had gone. Now she was back. But not quite herself again, that would take time. They pulled apart as they heard the sound of multiple clearing throats. Edward, Jasper, Emmett, Rosalie, and Carlisle had returned from hunting.

Edward spoke first. "Is it safe to come in?"

"Or are we gonna get plates smashed over our heads?" Emmett grinned, dodging Rosalie as she tried to slap him around the head.

"The anger is gone," Jasper spoke up quietly. "And Bella is far too exhausted for more plate throwing." He grinned.

"It's good to have you back Bella," Carlisle spoke next. "Come and see me later. We'll talk, and I'll make sure you are ok."

"Thank you Carlisle," Bella looked at everyone individually "And thank you to all of you. I'm really sorry for how I've been lately. I've been a total bitch."

"Not really," Rosalie spoke up. "Strictly amateur bitchiness, I should know." She winked.

Bella laughed softly. "Thanks Rose. But really, I can't thank you all enough for everything you have done. You took me in when it must be making life hard for you," Bella looked at Jasper as she said that last part and smiled gratefully. "And I certainly don't blame any of you for anything. If it weren't for you all I would be dead. Instead I have a whole eternity to look forward to."

Alice gasped. "You mean… you still want to be turned? Even if you don't get any better?"

"Yes. I'm willing to take my chances. I may turn out to be the slowest, most useless vampire in history but I still want to be one." Bella smiled. She looked at Alice, staring at her perfect features and Bella felt something stirring inside her. She felt like she had been missing for a long time and had now found her way back. She realised that she was exactly where she was meant to be, where she belonged. How she got there no longer mattered. Bella smiled again. _'Why couldn't I have figured this out without acting like a crazy person?'_

Alice looked slightly confused. "Bella? Are you ok?"

Bella took a deep breath before replying. "Alice I'm… getting there. I just realised that despite everything I am exactly where I belong. With you. And despite my behaviour recently I love you so, so much. I can't be without you, ever." Bella frowned; there was something she needed to do before she could truly start to get better. It was going to be hard. "Alice, would you do me a favour?"

"Of course."

"Can you take me to see Charlie? Now."

Alice nodded. She picked Bella up and together they left. Bella was about to say her final goodbye.


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: I do not now, nor have I ever, nor will I ever, own Twilight or its amazing characters. That honour is forever held by Stephanie Meyer.**

**A/N: Well, this is it. The end of my first ever attempt at writing a story. I apologise for the long wait. Between my beta and I, we have had real life kick us in the ass, birthdays, vacations and tattoos getting in the way! I really hope you all enjoyed this story as much as I did. The sheer number of people who added me to alerts, fave's etc was incredible, I didn't expect it at all. That is totally amazing to me and to everyone who left reviews, I thank you all. You gave me the motivation and encouragement to continue, even when I kept thinking how much better everyone else's stories are and was tempted to give up.**

**Finally, I must give a shout out to Ebony-Rosez, my beta. Without her this fic would never have got to 16 chapters and it would be a grammatical horror show. Her kind words and encouragement mean the world to me and because of her (and all my reviewers) you can expect more stories from me.**

**To the fans of Fire & Ice, I have a sequel planned. I am in the process of getting it mapped out and then I will start writing it. I won't give a time line though as I am the world's worst person for putting pressure on myself and if I can't stick to it I will feel awful. It will be this year though, I promise.**

**Well, enough from me. I now present to you, Fire & Ice, the final chapter…**

**Chapter Sixteen**

Alice was driving Bella to the Forks Cemetery. It was completely silent in the car, but it was a comfortable silence. Alice was driving at a human speed, which was unbearably slow for her. She knew Bella was in no rush for what she was about to do so she took her time. Alice looked down and watched as Bella unconsciously sought out her hand that had been resting on her thigh. Even lost in thought, Bella always naturally gravitated towards Alice. Alice took her hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. She was very aware that Bella needed to have this visit; she wouldn't be able to heal properly without it, but it was hard. Alice wanted so much to protect Bella from the world; it was her natural instinct after everything the human had been through recently. However, this was something she needed to do on her own.

Alice pulled into the cemetery and parked the car. It was an overcast day in Forks, but the sun kept poking sporadically through the clouds. She couldn't risk going with Bella and she didn't like it. She growled softly, "Bella, I can't come with you, the sun keeps coming out and there are too many people around right now. Are you going to be okay?" Bella just stared out of the car window, taking in deep breaths. "Bella? Sweetie, you don't have to do this if you're not ready. Do you want to go home?"

Bella finally turned to Alice, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. "No. I um… I need to do this. It's been five weeks since he was buried; I should have done this a lot sooner. Um, where is he?"

"Follow the path around the corner; he's on top of the hill. I'm sorry I can't take you. I'll be right here waiting okay?"

"Yeah. I'll be alright. Thank you." Bella leant over and gave Alice a light peck on her cold cheek. "I love you." She grabbed her crutches and exited the car. Alice's heart broke a little more as she watched her girlfriend walk slowly up the path. But she was also incredibly proud of her. Bella had been through so much recently. She had struggled badly with her back injury and almost lost herself to depression, but she was slowly battling back. She would be her old self again soon; Alice had seen it after Bella's breakdown earlier that day. What she hadn't told the girl, what she couldn't tell her, was that in the vision her injury had not really improved very much. It now looked like it was going to take turning her into a vampire for her to truly recover. She had to kill Bella to fix her. _'How ironic.' _Alice thought wryly. Alice never took her eyes off Bella, watching as she disappeared around the corner. _'She's on her own now.'_ Alice prayed to whatever god listened to vampires that this visit to Charlie would help her.

Bella huffed as she slowly made her way along the winding path leading to the hill which had become her Dad's final resting place. She regretted missing his funeral, but she had been told what a lovely service it had been, and how many people had gathered to pay their respects. She was shocked when Esme told her that the Quileute's had shown up. Charlie had been full of stories about them, about how they rarely left the reservation, and how there was something strange about them. Bella laughed to herself, _'What could possibly be strange about them? After vampires nothing would surprise me.'_

Bella finally reached her destination at the top of the hill and she found Charlie's headstone. There were so many flowers and wreaths strewn across the fresh grave, even after five weeks. Bella took a few minutes to read the cards, taking in the love the residents of Forks had shown for her Dad, their Police Chief. She was exhausted; the walk had really sapped her of her energy. Luckily for her there was a small stone bench right opposite the grave so she could at least sit down. She sat for a few minutes, just staring at the headstone. She could feel the tears threatening to fall and blinked them back furiously. It didn't work. Just when Bella thought she couldn't possibly cry any more, the tears fell.

"Oh Dad, I miss you so much," she sobbed. She wrapped her arms around herself protectively, rocking slowly back and forth. The sun appeared from behind the clouds, shining directly on to the headstone, like a spotlight, before disappearing behind the clouds again. Bella wiped her eyes; she could have sworn she had seen someone moving behind the tree Charlie was buried under, but there was no-one there. _'What do I do now? Do I just talk to him like he's here? Why not, better than sitting in silence.' _

"Hey Dad, umm, this is a little weird. I'm sorry I haven't come earlier. I've not exactly been myself and I've kinda been a nightmare to live with lately. But I think I am getting better, finally. Would you believe all it took was a can of Coke to make me break down? Typical of me right?" Bella looked down at her hands. "I've been so horrible to Alice, to everyone. I knew I was being a bitch but I couldn't stop, I couldn't help it. Anyone else would have dumped my ass by now, but not her. She has been wonderful. If you'd seen her you would have been proud of the way she's taken care of me. She never put up with all my crap, just like you wouldn't have." Bella paused and sighed. "Dad, I wish you were still here. There was so much I needed to tell you."

"So tell me now."

"Aggh!" Bella jumped off the bench in fright at the sudden voice behind her and landed squarely on her backside. "Oof." She looked up and stared. She couldn't believe her eyes. Standing right in front of her was…

"Dad?"

"Bella, will you please try and be careful. I don't want you hurting yourself any more."

"What the fuck?" Bella squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head. "I'm not seeing this. I've cracked up. I've gone round the bend. I'm insane. Carlisle has given me wacky meds." She opened one eye and peeked up, Charlie was still there. _'Shit.'_

Charlie chuckled. "Alice was right; you do have a flair for the dramatics. Please Bella, get up and sit down. I'm really here, sort of. You're not insane. Or high." Bella kept a wary eye on Charlie as she slowly got up and sat back on the bench. Charlie sat down next to her, smiling fondly at his daughter. "You look slightly better Bells. You're far too thin for my liking though. I've been keeping an eye on you; I was very worried for a while there." Charlie watched as Bella raised her hand with a finger outstretched, trying to poke him. She gasped as her hand went right through him. "Bella what are you doing?"

"You're not real." She whispered. "How can this be happening? Ghosts aren't real."

"And why the hell not? You live with vampires now kiddo. There are a lot of things in this world you've yet to discover. How is a ghost any less real than a vampire?"

Bella paled. "You know… about the Cullens?"

"I'm dead Bella, I know everything now." Charlie grinned. The smile faded as Bella started to cry again. "Hey, come on. Don't cry. Look, I'm right here. I'm not really gone."

"I'm sorry. I just miss you Dad. I… did it hurt? The crash? When you… died?"

"No sweetheart, it didn't. I went straight away, I didn't feel a thing. I promise."

Bella breathed a sigh of relief, "Well I suppose that's good. Not dying, that's not good but the no pain thing is good and… God, I'm a babbling idiot. Wait a second, you know everything? What mom did? Even what I am going to do?"

"Everything. If I were still alive I would probably be less than thrilled about you becoming a vampire, assuming I ever would have found out. But being dead kind of changes your perspective on things. And I can't be angry at your mother. She did the best thing for you, even if her motives were a little skewed."

"So you… give me your blessing?"

"I actually do. Knowing what I know now, you have nothing to worry about sweetheart. How are you finding your new family?"

"I love them, Dad. I've been a bitch and they still love me."

"Of course they do, what's not to love? So, you're becoming a vampire pretty soon. It's gonna hurt sweetheart. Are you nervous?"

"A little," Bella admitted. "I really want Alice to do it; she's been working so hard with Carlisle. I trust her completely, but something she said about Edward has been bothering me. You know everything now, so you know what he believes? That they have no soul?"

Charlie nodded. "I do. That's one of the things I wanted to tell you today. Bella, vampires still have their souls."

Bella gasped. "Really? Truly?"

"Yes. They are no different to humans in that regard. It all depends on how they live their lives. Victoria had no soul, she was evil. Nevertheless, the Cullen's are good people. Even the one's who have killed humans. They've spent their existence redeeming themselves, or trying to. You can tell Edward that he still has his soul, they all do, and unless they screw up royally, they are not condemned to hell."

"Oh my god, he is going to be so happy about that. They all are. I never really believed they were soulless, it was impossible. They're too good for that to be true."

"You really are one of-a-kind Bells." Charlie joked.

"So, what do you do when you're not scaring your only offspring in a cemetery? Oh my god, you don't… watch… do you?" Bella turned bright red.

"What do think I am - a voyeur? No, I don't watch. That's something I really have no desire to see… ever! I know everything there is to know about the world and the species that live in it. I can come to you as and when you need me, but the rest of the time I am... in heaven I guess."

"How do you know when I need you?" Bella whispered.

"I just know. I will never be far away from you sweetheart." Charlie looked over Bella's shoulder. "Alice is on her way, I'd better go."

"NO! Please don't go; I want her to see you."

"She can't see me, Bella. I can only appear to you right now. She will believe you when you tell her though."

"No, she won't. She'll think exactly what I thought, that I've gone insane. Even if she does believe me, the others probably won't."

Charlie sighed and looked deep in thought, like he was deciding if he should say something. "Bella, trust your girlfriend. And as for the others, I can tell you something that will help them believe you." Charlie leaned forwards to his daughter and whispered in her ear. Bella paled and her eyes filled with tears again. She tried to say something but couldn't. "Bella, it'll be okay. You would have been told eventually."

"Really? I just can't believe it. How could…"

"I'm sorry; I really have to go Bells. Look, I don't want to leave things like this. Trust me when I tell you that everything will work out. And by the way, that question you've been mulling over? Go for it sweetie." Charlie smiled.

Bella stared at her father in shock; she was taking in a lot of information very quickly. "How did yo…? Never mind, you know everything. It's kind of unnerving you know."

Charlie laughed. "I know. It's unnerving for me too. But trust me, it'll all work out. Goodbye sweetie." And in the blink of an eye Charlie disappeared, leaving Bella staring at nothing. She jumped as she felt a cool hand touch her shoulder; she had forgotten Alice was on her way. "Alice! Don't sneak up on a human in a cemetery. That's how we get killed in bad horror movies you know?"

"I'm sorry; I thought you heard me coming. Bella, are you alright? I heard you scream a while ago but couldn't get up here until everyone left the cemetery. I was going crazy waiting in the car."

Bella looked at her girlfriend. She had covered herself up completely, not an inch of skin was showing in case the sun poked through again and someone else turned up to see a sparkly person in a graveyard. She realised she hadn't answered Alice's question but her brain was not quite functioning properly yet.

"Bella? You look like you've seen a ghost. What's wrong? Did something happen?"

"Ha ha!" Bella laughed slightly hysterically, prompting Alice to get very worried about the girl. "A ghost, funny you should say that."

"Why is it funny?"

"Um, did you not get any visions of me up here while you were in the car?"

"I did, but it didn't really make much sense. I tried not to look; I wanted to give you your privacy but… Bella you seemed to be talking to thin air. Talking to the headstone I could understand but you were talking to… nothing."

"Not quite nothing. Alice, you may not believe this but… I saw Charlie."

"Of course you did, that's why you came here."

"No, I mean I really saw him. He appeared to me as a ghost. I spoke to him."

Alice stared at her girlfriend, a concerned look on her face, "Did Carlisle mess up your meds? You've had a rough day Bella, maybe…"

"No! That's what I thought at first but he was really here. He knew everything that had happened, everything I am about to do. He even knew wh…"

"Knew what?"

"Nothing, I'm still thinking about that. Alice, can you please get me home, quickly. He told me something that everyone needs to hear. Please believe me; I am not making this up. He was here Al. He was the 'thin air' you saw in your vision."

Alice stared at Bella. She heard the girl's heartbeat, it was a little elevated but steady. _'She's telling the truth.' _"He was really here?" Bella just nodded her eyes full of tears again. "Okay, let's get home." Alice looked around the cemetery, it was still empty. She scooped Bella up in her arms and within a second they were in the car, speeding back to the house.

A few minutes later Bella was back in the Cullen lounge, with seven vampires all staring at her waiting to hear what had her so anxious to tell them. Bella took in their faces. Esme had a motherly look on her face, Carlisle and the boys looked curious and Rosalie just looked suspicious. Bella gulped. _'Oh god, they're going to think I'm crazy.' _She felt Alice squeeze her hand which gave her the courage to start speaking.

"Before I start can I please, please ask that you let me finish without interruptions? You're all going to think I am insane; I swear to god this is the truth." Bella watched as they all nodded in agreement. "Okay. When I was at the cemetery earlier, Charlie appeared to me. He was a ghost." Bella watched as this news sank in. No-one said anything so she took that as a sign to continue. "He um… said that he was now in heaven and that he knew everything about the world and the species that live in it. He knows you are all vampires. He knows I am going to become one and gave me his blessing. He said something else but unless you believe me it won't mean anything."

There was silence in the room as the vampires took in what Bella had told them. Jasper spoke first. "Bella is calm and rational. She believes what she is saying and there is no deception on her part. Bella, I believe you." He nodded towards the girl.

"Thanks Jasper. Anyone else?"

Carlisle was next. "I have no reason to doubt you Bella. If you say you spoke to Charlie, then I believe you."

"Me too," Esme, Emmett and Edward said. Only Rosalie had not said anything yet.

"Rose?" Bella was a little scared, she never knew what Rosalie was thinking.

"I believe that you believe you saw your dead father. You've had a rough time recently, maybe this was your human brains way of coping."

"No Rose, I really saw him. And… if you can't believe me he told me something that would make you believe. But I don't… I really don't feel comfortable saying it out loud."

Everyone was staring at Bella, wondering what she had been told. They were also looking warily at Rosalie. She had come a long way with Bella but she was still the same, sceptical, untrusting vampire with anything or anyone else.

Rosalie looked around the room at her family. "Oh please, don't tell me you all really believe this crap? Carlisle, come on. You're a doctor! You must know this is most likely a stress related delusion. Bella has been very dep…"

"ROSE!" Bella yelled, shocking the blonde vampire into silence. "Please don't speak like I am not in the room. I can prove I saw Charlie."

"Go on then, prove it." Rosalie challenged.

"He told me…," Bella gulped nervously. "He told me what happened to you before you were turned. I know. I know you were… raped."

Bella's voice was barely audible on the last word but the vampires had no problem hearing her. Everyone gasped. They knew Rosalie had not yet told Bella her story. She rarely told anyone. This was proof of Charlie's so-called existence. There was no way Bella could have known otherwise. Emmett rubbed his wife's shoulders reassuringly, whispering silently in her ear. Rosalie for her part was frozen, staring at Bella. "You know?" She whispered.

Bella just nodded her head, her eyes filling with tears again. She would never have believed it was possible for someone to cry so much in a single day. "I'm so sorry that happened to you Rose. I didn't want to say anything; I was hoping you would believe me without me having to say it." Bella felt Alice rubbing her arm and was grateful for the support.

Rosalie just sighed and sat down next to Bella. "This is totally crazy. Just a few months ago our lives were normal. And then you showed up and turned everything upside down. Until you came into our lives, I would never have believed I could love a human, or that a human would love us back. I certainly wouldn't have believed that a human would affect our family like you have, especially one prone to life-threatening situations almost 24/7. I suppose… I suppose that if vampires can exist, if a human can fall in love with one, who are we to deny the existence of ghosts?"

Bella threw her arms around Rose, hugging her as tightly as she could. "Thank you Rose."

Rosalie whispered back. "You're welcome. And we'll talk okay? I'll tell you the whole story. You're family now, you deserve to know."

"Thank you." Bella turned to the family. "Thank god you believe me," Bella took a deep breath. "Charlie told me something that should make things a lot easier for all of you. Edward, I know what you believe, that vampires have no souls. According to Charlie… you do." Bella recoiled slightly as all seven vampires gasped in shock.

"What?" Edward whispered as he sank into the couch.

"You still have your souls. That's part of the reason he gave me his blessing to become like you. You are NOT monsters. It's like with humans, if you are good you are not damned."

Jasper looked confused, "But I've killed people. How can you say that?"

Bella shot a sympathetic look at the blonde vampire, "Jasper, you have spent your entire existence trying to redeem yourself, to live a better life. You all have. It's because of that you still have your souls, you retain your humanity. As Charlie said, unless you screw up royally, you are not condemned to hell."

Bella watched as Carlisle approached her and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, "Bella, you have no idea what you have just done for this family. This changes everything. I will have to get this news out somehow, although I don't think many vampires will care for this. Or believe it seeing as the only proof we have is a ghost. But as far as this family is concerned, I cannot thank you enough."

"It's not me," Bella mumbled, leaning forward slightly, trying to stretch her back as it was aching. "You can thank Charlie. Well I can, if I see him again."

"I'm sure you will sweetie," Alice rubbed Bella's back, prompting the girl to moan softly with relief. "You said he would appear if you needed him. With everything that's coming up, I'm sure he will be around."

"I hope so. I thought I had lost him for good but… I still have him, sort of. I have you guys. I am so lucky." Bella whispered. She heard Charlie's voice in her head, '_And by the way, that question you've been mulling over? Go for it sweetie.' _Bella gazed at Alice and her heart skipped a beat. _'I am hopelessly in love with this girl. Shall I do it? Go for it!'_

Alice had been watching Bella with a puzzled expression _'Her thoughts seem so jumbled, I can't get anything from her in a vision. What is she up to?' _"Bella, are you alright?"

"I am perfect. Thank you for today, Alice. It wasn't quite what I was expecting but it has certainly helped, with a lot of things." Bella looked at everyone, they had been speaking amongst themselves, trying to take in the life-changing news Bella had just dropped on them all. "Hey, everyone, umm, there's something I want to do and I'd like you all to be here for it." Bella turned to Alice, "Alice. You have made me the happiest girl in the world. I never want to be without you, I simply can't. Before I become a vampire, before I join your family, I want to make things official." Bella took Alice's cold hands and held them tightly in her own. "Okay, I know there is a proper, traditional way of doing this but if I get down on my knee I may never get up again." Bella laughed as the others chuckled. '_Here goes.'_

"Alice Cullen. Will you marry me?"

The End


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